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STORIES TO READ OR TELL 



“A wonderful horse appeared, having a golden mane.” (P. 13) 



STORIES TO READ 
OR TELL 


FROM 

FAIRY TALES AND FOLKLORE 


Selected and Edited 
by 

LAURE CLAIRE FOUCHER 

V \ 

Assistant in the New York Public Library 


Illustrated by Ada Budell 


NEW YORK 

MOFFAT, YARD AND COMPANY 

1911 


7^2 

St 


Copyright, 1911, by 
MOFFAT, YARD AND COMPANY 
New York 


Published October, 1911 





THE QUINN & BODEN CO. PRE88 
RAHWAY, N. A. 


V 

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Q 


©Cl, A 300788 

I'U.I 


V. 


CONTENTS 


i 


I 


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5 ' 


PAGE 

The Stone-Cutter ....... i 

Prince Kindhearted ...... 8 

The Timid Hare and the Flight of the Beasts . 17 

The Bee, the Harp, the Mouse, and the Bullock . 24 

The Tale of the Pointer Tray .... 40 

The Enchanted Princess ..... 44 

“It Is Quite True” ..... 57 

The Old Hag’s Long Leather Bag ... 63 

The Wolf and the Seven Little Goats ... 82 

The Tale of the Snow and the Steeple . . 89 

King Longbeard ...... 93 

The Toy Goose . . . . . .118 

Yellow Lily ....... 123 

The Mouse, the Bird, and the Sausage . .159 

The Tale of the Wolf in Harness . . .164 



ILLUSTRATIONS 


A wonderful horse appeared . . . Frontispiece 

FACING 

At the sound of the voice, the Stone-cutter looked PAGE 
around ....... 2 

The Bodhisatta saw this headlong flight of the 

animals ....... 18 

The Mouse and the Bumclock stood up . .38 

When, behold, they found no less than six brace of 

live partridges ...... 42 

Hardly had she spoken these words, when raging 

winds came blowing and whistling . . 48 

“ Pass it on,” piped the bats .... 60 

“ Going up to a little house, she found an old hag ” 74 

“ The mother sewed him up so quickly ” . .86 

“ I took one of my pistols ” . . .90 

All the princesses were there .... 104 

He jumped so high that nobody could see where he 

went to . . . . . . • 120 

Up went the lid of the tank . . . .144 

The bird tells the others . . . . .160 

“We both arrived in full career” . .165 


/ 



THE STONE-CUTTER 


O NCE upon a time there lived a stone-cut- 
ter, who went every day to a great rock 
in the side of a big mountain and cut out slabs 
for gravestones or for houses. He understood 
very well the kinds of stones wanted for the 
different purposes, and as he was a careful 
workman he had plenty of customers. For 
a long time he was quite happy and con- 
tented, and asked for nothing better than what 
he had. 

Now in the mountain dwelt a spirit which 
now and then appeared to men, and helped 
them in many ways to become rich and pros- 
perous. The stone-cutter, however, had never 
seen this spirit, and only shook his head, with 
an unbelieving air, when anyone spoke of it. 
But a time was coming when he learned to 
change his opinion. 

One day the stone-cutter carried a grave- 
stone to the house of a rich man, and saw there 
all sorts of beautiful things, of which he had 

1 



3 


THE STONE-CUTTER 

never even dreamed. Suddenly his daily work 
seemed to grow harder and heavier, and he 
said to himself: “Oh, if only I were a rich 
man, and could sleep in a bed with silken 
curtains and golden tassels, how happy I 
should be!” 

And a voice answered him: “Your wish is 
heard; a rich man you shall be!” 

At the sound of the voice the stone-cutter 
looked round, but could see nobody. He 
thought it was all his fancy, and picked up his 
tools and went home, for he did not feel in- 
clined to do any more work that day. IBut 
when he reached the little house where he 
lived, he stood still with amazement, for in- 
stead of his wooden hut was a stately palace 
filled with splendid furniture, and most 
splendid of all was the bed, in every respect 
like the one he had envied. He was nearly 
beside himself with joy, and in his new life 
the old one was soon forgotten. 

It was now the beginning of summer, and 
each day the sun blazed more fiercely. One 
morning the heat was so great that the stone- 
cutter could scarcely breathe, and he deter- 


4 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 
mined he would stop at home till the evening. 
He was rather dull, for he had never learned 
how to amuse himself, and was peeping 
through the closed blinds to see what was go- 
ing on in the street, when a little carriage 
passed by, drawn by servants dressed in blue 
and silver. In the carriage sat a prince, and 
over his head a golden umbrella was held, 
to protect him from the sun’s rays. 

“Oh, if I were only a prince!” said the 
stone-cutter to himself, as the carriage van- 
ished round the corner. “Oh, if I were only 
a prince, and could go in such a carriage and 
have a golden umbrella held over me, how 
happy I should be!” 

And the voice of the mountain spirit an- 
swered: “Your wish is heard; a prince you 
shall be.” 

And a prince he was. Before his carriage 
rode one company of men and another be- 
hind it; servants dressed in scarlet and gold 
bore him along, the coveted umbrella was 
held over his head, everything heart could 
desire was his. But yet it was not enough. 
He looked round still for something to wish 


5 


THE STONE-CUTTER 
for, and when he saw that in spite of the water 
he poured on his grass the rays of the sun 
scorched it, and that in spite of the umbrella 
held over his head each day his face grew 
browner and browner, he cried in his anger: 
“The sun is mightier than I; oh, if I were 
only the sun!” 

And the mountain spirit answered: “Your 
wish is heard ; the sun you shall be.” 

And the sun he was, and felt himself proud 
in his power. He shot his beams above and 
below, on earth and in heaven ; he burnt up 
the grass in the fields and scorched the faces 
of princes as well as of poorer folk. But 
in a short time he began to grow tired of his 
might, for there seemed nothing left for him 
to do. Discontent once more filled his soul, 
and when a cloud covered his face, and hid the 
earth from him he cried in his anger: “Does 
the cloud hold captive my rays, and is it 
mightier than I? Oh, that I were a cloud, 
and mightier than any!” 

And the mountain spirit answered: “Your 
wish is heard; a cloud you shall be!” 

And a cloud he was, and lay between the 


6 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 

sun and the earth. He caught the sun’s 
beams and held them, and to his joy the earth 
grew green again and flowers blossomed. But 
that was not enough for him, and for days and 
weeks he poured forth rain till the rivers 
overflowed their banks and the crops of rice 
stood in water. Towns and villages were de- 
stroyed by the power of the rain, only the great 
rock on the mountain side remained unmoved. 
The cloud was amazed at the sight, and cried 
in wonder: “Is the rock, then, mightier than 
I? Oh, if I were only the rock!” 

And the mountain spirit answered: “Your 
wish is heard; the rock you shall be!” 

And the rock he was, and glorified in his 
power. Proudly he stood, and neither the 
heat of the sun nor the force of the rain could 
move him. “This is better than all!” he said 
to himself. But one day he heard a strange 
noise at his feet, and when he looked down to 
see what it could be, he saw a stone-cutter 
driving tools into his surface. Even while he 
looked a trembling feeling ran all through 
him, and a great block broke off and fell upon 
the ground. Then he cried in his wrath: “Is 


THE STONE-CUTTER 7 

a mere child of earth mightier than a rock? 
Oh, if I were only a man!” 

And the mountain spirit answered: “Your 
wish is heard. A man once more you shall 
be!” 

And a man he was, and in the sweat of His 
brow he toiled again at his trade of stone- 
cutting. His bed was hard and his food 
scanty, but he had learned to be satisfied with 
it, and did not long to be something or some- 
body else. And as he never asked for things 
he had not got, or desired to be greater and 
mightier than other people, he was happy at 
last, and heard the voice of the mountain spirit 
no longer. 


PRINCE KINDHEARTED 

O NCE upon a time there lived a king 
who had but one son, and he was called 
the Kindhearted. When the prince was 
twenty years old, he asked the king, his father, 
to let him go traveling. His father fitted him 
out for the journey, gave him a true servant 
to guard him, and his fatherly blessing. The 
prince took leave of his father, mounted a 
brave steed and went to different countries, 
to see God’s world, to learn many things, and 
to return home a wiser and a better man. 

Once when the prince was slowly riding 
through a silent field, he suddenly perceived 
an eagle in pursuit of a swan. The white 
swan was almost caught by the eagle’s sharp 
claws, when the prince, carefully aiming, fired 
his pistol. The eagle fell dead, and the happy 
swan came down and said: “Prince Kind- 
hearted, I thank you for your help. It is not 
a swan that is thanking you, but the enchanted 
daughter of the Knight Invisible. You have 


PRINCE KINDHEARTED 9 

not saved me from an eagle’s claws, but from 
the terrible magician King Koshchey. My 
father will pay you well for your services. 
Remember whenever you are in need, to say 
three times: ‘Knight Invisible, come to my 
help !’ ” The swan flew away as soon as it had 
finished speaking, and the prince looked after 
it, then continued his journey. 

He crossed many high mountains, traversed 
deep rivers, passed foreign countries, and at 
last he came to a great desert, where there was 
nothing to see but sky and sand. No man 
lived there, no animal’s voice was ever heard, 
no vegetable ever grew there; the sun was 
shining so brightly and burning so terribly 
that all the rivers were dried up, their beds 
were lost in the sand, and there was not a 
drop of water anywhere. The young prince 
anxious to go everywhere and see everything 
and not noticing how dry things were, kept 
going farther and farther, and deeper and 
deeper, into the desert. But after a while he 
became terribly thirsty. In order to find some 
water he sent his servant in one direction and 
he himself went in another. After a long 


10 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 

time he succeeded in finding a well. He 
called to his servant, “I have found a means of 
getting some water,” and they both were 
happy. But their happiness did not last, for 
the well was very deep and they had nothing 
with which to reach the water. 

The prince said to the servant: “Dismount, 
I will let you down into the well by some long 
ropes and you shall draw up some water.” 

“No, my prince,” answered the servant, “I 
am much heavier than you are, and Your Maj- 
esty’s hands will not be able to hold me. You 
take hold of the ropes, and I will let you down 
into the well.” 

The prince, the ropes tied around him, went 
down into the well, drank the cold water, and 
taking some of it for the servant, pulled the 
ropes, as a sign for the servant to draw him 
up again. 

But instead of pulling him up, the servant 
said: “Listen, you, kingly son! From your 
cradle-days until now you have lived a happy 
life, surrounded by luxury and love, and I 
have always led the life of a miserable wretch. 
Now you must agree to become my servant, 


PRINCE KINDHEARTED 11 
and I will be the prince instead of you. If 
you will not exchange, say your last prayer, 
for I am going to drown you.” 

“Do not drown me, my true servant, you 
will not gain anything by it. You will never 
find such a good master as I am, and you 
know what a murderer may expect in the 
next world.” 

“Let me suffer in the next world, but I will 
make you suffer in this one,” answered the 
servant and he began to loosen the ropes. 

“Stop!” cried the prince, “I will be thy 
servant and you shall be the prince. I will 
give you my word for it.” 

“I do not believe your word. Swear that 
you will write down what you promise me, 
now, for words are lost in the air, and writing 
always remains as a testimony against us.” 

“I swear!” 

The servant let down into the well a sheet 
of paper and a pencil, and told the prince to 
write the following: “The bearer of this is 
Prince Kindhearted, traveling with his ser- 
vant, a subject of his father’s kingdom.” 

The servant glanced over the note, pulled 


12 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 
the prince out of the well, gave him his 
shabby clothes, and put on the prince’s rich 
dress. Then having changed armor and 
horses, they went on. 

In a week or so they came to the capital of 
a certain kingdom. When they approached 
the palace, the false prince gave his horse to 
the false servant and told him to go to the 
stable, and he himself went straight into the 
throne chamber and said to the king: “I come 
to you to ask for the hand of your daughter, 
whose beauty and wisdom are known all over 
the world. If you consent, you will have our 
favor; if not, we will decide it by war.” 

“You do not speak to me in a nice way at 
all, not as a prince ought to speak, but it may 
be that in your country you are not used to 
better manners. Now listen to me, my future 
son-in-law. My kingdom is now in the hands 
of an enemy of mine. His troops have cap- 
tured my best soldiers and now they are ap- 
proaching my capital. If you will clear my 
kingdom from these troops, my daughter’s 
hand will be yours as a reward.” 

“All right,” answered the false prince, “I 


PRINCE KINDHEARTED 13 
will drive your enemies away. Do not worry 
if they come to the capital. To-morrow 
morning not one enemy will be left in your 
land.” In the evening he went out of the 
palace, called his servant and said to him: 
“Listen, my dear! Go out to the city walls, 
drive away the foreign troops, and for this 
service I will return to you your note, by 
which you denied your kingdom and swore to 
be my servant.” 

The honest Prince Kindhearted put on his 
knightly armor, mounted his steed, went out 
to the city walls and called in a loud voice: 
“Knight Invisible! Come to my help!” 

“Here I am,” said Knight Invisible, “what 
do you wish me to do for you? I am ready to 
do everything for you, because you saved my 
child from the terrible Koshchey.” 

Prince Kindhearted showed him the troops, 
and the Knight Invisible whistled loudly and 
called : “Oh you, my wise horse, come to me 
quickly!” 

There was a rustling in the air, it thun- 
dered, the earth trembled, and a wonderful 
horse appeared, having a golden mane, from 


14 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 

his nostrils a fire was burning, from his eyes 
bright sparks were flying, and from his ears 
thick clouds of smoke were coming. 

Knight Invisible jumped upon the horse 
and said to the prince : “Take this magic sword 
and attack the troops from the left, and I upon 
my golden-maned horse will attack them from 
the right.” 

They both attacked the army. From the left 
the soldiers were falling like wood, from the 
right like whole forests. In less than an hour 
the entire army vanished. Some of them re- 
mained upon the spot, dead; some of them 
fled. Prince Kindhearted and the Knight In- 
visible met upon the battle-field, shook hands 
in a friendly way, and in a minute the Knight 
Invisible and his horse turned into a bright 
red flame, then into thick smoke, which dis- 
appeared in the darkness. The prince re- 
turned quietly to the palace. 

The young princess felt very sad that even- 
ing. She could not sleep and so leaned out of 
her window, whence she overheard the con- 
versation between the prince and the servant. 
Then she saw what was going on behind the 


PRINCE KINDHEARTED 15 


city walls. She also saw the Knight Invis- 
ible disappear in the darkness, and Prince 
Kindhearted return to the palace. She saw 
the false prince coming out of the palace, tak- 
ing the knightly armor from the servant, and 
Prince Kindhearted entering the stable to rest. 

The next morning, the old king, seeing his 
land freed from the enemies, felt very happy, 
and gave the prince many rich presents. But 
when he announced the engagement of his 
daughter to him, she stood up, took the hand 
of the real prince, who helped to serve at the 
table, led him before the old king and said: 
“My dearest father and king, and all you that 
are present here! This man is my bride- 
groom, sent to me by God, for he is your sav- 
ior, and the real prince. And that one who 
calls himself a prince, is a traitor; a false and 
dishonest man.” Then the princess told 
everything she knew and said: “Let him show 
some proof that he really is a prince.” 

The false prince gave to the king the note, 
which was given to him in the well. The 
king opened it and read aloud: “The bearer 
of this note, the false and untrue servant of 


16 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 


Prince Kindhearted, asks for pardon and ex- 
pects a just punishment. The note was given 
to him in the well by Prince Kindhearted.” 

“Is it really so?” cried the wretch and he be- 
came pale as death.” 

“Yes, read it yourself, if you do not believe 
it,” answered the king. 

“I cannot read,” said the poor fellow. He 
knelt before his master and begged for mercy, 
but he received what he deserved. 

Prince Kindhearted and the princess 
were happily married, and I was present at 
the wedding feast and also felt happy. — 
Translated from Polish folklore by Helen 
Schoenberg . 


THE TIMID HARE AND THE FLIGHT 
OF THE BEASTS 


O NCE upon a time when Brahmadatta 
reigned in Benares, the Bodhisatta 
came to life as a young lion. And when fully 
grown he lived in a wood. At this same time 
there was near the Western Ocean a grove of 
palms mixed with vilva trees. A certain hare 
lived here beneath a palm sapling, at the foot 
of a vilva tree. 

One day this hare after feeding came and 
lay down beneath a young palm tree. And 
the thought struck him: “If this earth should 
be destroyed, what would become of me?” 
And at this very moment a ripe vilva fruit fell 
on a palm leaf. At the sound of it, the hare 
thought, “This solid earth is collapsing,” and 
starting up he fled without so much as looking 
behind him. 

Another saw him scampering off as if 
frightened to death, and asked the cause of his 

17 


18 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 



The Bodhisatta saw this headlong flight of the animals. 


THE TIMID HARE 


19 


panic flight. “Pray, don’t ask me,” he said. 
The other hare cried, “Pray, sir, what is it?” 
and kept running after him. Then the hare 
stopped a moment and without looking back 
he said, “The earth here is breaking up.” 
And at this the second hare ran after the other. 
And so first one and then another hare caught 
sight of him running, and joined in the chase 
till one hundred thousand hares all took flight 
together. They were seen by a deer, a boar, 
an elk, a buffalo, a wild ox, a rhinoceros, a 
tiger, a lion, and an elephant. And when they 
asked what it meant and were told that the 
earth was breaking up, they too took flight. 
So by degrees this host of animals extended to 
the length of a full league. 

When the Bodhisatta saw this headlong 
flight of the animals, and heard that the cause 
of it was that the earth was coming to an end, 
he thought: “The earth is nowhere coming to 
an end. Surely it must be some sound which 
was misunderstood by them. And if I don’t 
make a great effort, they will surely perish. I 
will save their lives.” 

So with the speed of a lion he got before 


20 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 
them to the foot of a mountain, and lion-like 
roared three times. They were terribly 
frightened at the lion, and stopped in their 
flight, stood huddled together. The lion went 
in amongst them and asked why they were 
running away. 

“The earth is collapsing,” they answered. 

“Who saw it collapsing?” he said. 

“The elephants know all about it,” they re- 
plied. 

He asked the elephants. “We don’t know,” 
they said; “the lions know.” But the lions 
said, “We don’t know; the tigers know.” The 
tigers said, “The rhinoceroses know.” The 
rhinoceroses said, “The wild oxen know.” 
The wild oxen, “The buffaloes.” The buf- 
faloes, “The elks.” The elks, “The boars.” 
The boars, “The deer.” The deer said, “We 
don’t know; the hares know.” When the 
hares were questioned, they pointed to one 
particular hare and said, “This one told 
us.” 

So the Bodhisatta asked, “Is it true, sir, that 
the earth is breaking up?” 

“Yes, sir, I saw it,” said the hare. 


THE TIMID HARE 21 

“Where,” he asked, “were you living when 
you saw it?” 

“Near the ocean, sir, in a grove of palms 
mixed with vilva trees. For as I was lying 
beneath the shade of a palm sapling at the foot 
of a vilva tree, methought, ‘If this earth should 
break up, where shall I go?’ And at that 
very moment I heard the sound of breaking up 
of the earth, and I fled.” 

Thought the lion: “A ripe vilva fruit evi- 
dently must have fallen on a palm leaf and 
made a ‘thud/ and this hare jumped to the 
conclusion that the earth was coming to an 
end, and ran away. I will find out the exact 
truth about it.” So he reassured the herd of 
animals, and said : “I will take the hare and go 
find out exactly whether the earth is coming to 
an end or not, in the place pointed out by him. 
Until I return do you stay here.” Then, plac- 
ing the hare on his back, he sprang forward 
with the speed of a lion, and putting the hare 
down in a palm grove, he said, “Come, show 
us the place you meant.” 

“I dare not, my lord,” said the hare. 

“Come, don’t be afraid,” said the lion. 


22 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 

The hare, not venturing to go near the vilva 
tree, stood afar off and cried, “Yonder, sir, 
is the place of dreadful sounds,” and so saying, 
he repeated the first stanza : 

“From the spot where I did dwell 
Issued forth a fearful ‘thud*; 

What it was I could not tell, 

Nor what caused it understood.” 

After hearing what the hare said, the lion 
went to the foot of the vilva tree, and saw 
the spot where the hare had been lying be- 
neath the shade of the palm tree, and the ripe 
vilva fruit that fell on the palm leaf, and hav- 
ing carefully ascertained that the earth had not 
broken up, he placed the hare on his back and 
with the speed of a lion soon came again to 
the herd of beasts. 

* 

Then he told them the whole story, and said, 
“Don’t be afraid.” And having thus reas- 
sured the herd of beasts, he let them go. 

Verily if it had not been for the Bodhisatta 
at that time, all the beasts would have rushed 
into the sea and perished. It was all owing 
to the Bodhisatta that they escaped death. 


THE TIMID HARE 23 

Alarmed at sound of fallen fruit, 

A hare once ran away; 

The other beasts all followed suit, 

Moved by that hare’s dismay. 

They hastened not to view the scene, 

But lent a willing ear 

To idle gossip, and were clean 
Distraught with foolish fear. 

They who to Wisdom’s calm delight 
And Virtue’s heights attain, 

Though ill example should invite, 

Such panic fear disdain. 

These three stanzas were inspired by Per- 
fect Wisdom. 


THE BEE, THE HARP, THE MOUSE, 
AND THE BUM-CLOCK 

O NCE there was a widow, and she had one 
son, called Jack. Jack and his mother 
owned just three cows. They lived well and 
happy for a long time; but at last hard times 
came down on them, and the crops failed, and 
poverty looked in at the door, and things got 
so sore against the poor widow that for want 
of money and for want of necessities she had 
to make up her mind to sell one of the cows. 
“Jack,” she said one night, “go over in the 
morning to the fair to sell the branny cow.” 

Well and good: in the morning my brave 
Jack was up early, and took a stick in his fist 
and turned out the cow, and off to the fair he 
went with her; and when Jack came into the 
fair, he saw a great crowd gathered in a ring 
in the street. He went into the crowd to see 
what they were looking at, and there in the 
middle of them he saw a man with a wee, wee 
Harp, a Mouse, and a Bum-clock (Cock- 
24 


BEE, HARP, AND MOUSE 25 
roach), and a Bee to play the harp. And 
when the man put them down on the ground 
and whistled, the Bee began to play the Harp, 
and the Mouse and the Bum-clock stood up 
on their hind legs and got hold of each other 
and began to waltz. And as soon as the Harp 
began to play and the Mouse and the Bum- 
clock to dance, there wasn’t a man or woman, 
or a thing in the fair, that didn’t begin to 
dance also; and the pots and pans, and the 
wheels and reels jumped and jigged, all over 
the town, and Jack himself and the brannj 
cow were as bad as the next. 

There was never a town in such a state be- 
fore or since, and after a while the man picked 
up the Bee, the Harp, and the Mouse, and the 
Bum-clock and put them into his pocket, and 
the men and women, Jack and the cow, the 
pots and pans, wheels and reels, that had 
hopped and jigged, now stopped, and every- 
one began to laugh as if to break its heart 
Then the man turned to Jack. “Jack,” says 
he, “how would you like to be master of all 
these animals?” 

“Why,” says Jack, “I should like it fine.” 


26 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 

“Well, then,” says the man, “how will you 
and me make a bargain about them?” 

“I have no money,” says Jack. 

“But you have a fine cow,” says the man. 
“I will give you the Bee and the Harp for 
it.” 

“O, but,” Jack says, says he, “my poor 
mother at home is very sad and sorrowful en- 
tirely, and I have this cow to sell and lift her 
heart again.” 

“And better than this she cannot get,” says 
the man. “For when she sees the Bee play the 
Harp, she will laugh if she never laughed in 
her life before.” 

“Well,” says Jack, says he, “that will be 
grand.” 

He made the bargain. The man took the 
cow; and Jack started home with the Bee and 
the Harp in his pocket, and when he came 
home, his mother welcomed him back. 

“And, Jack,” says she, “I see you have sold 
the cow.” 

“I have done that,” says Jack. 

“Did you do well?” says the mother. 

“I did well, and very well,” says Jack. 


BEE, HARP, AND MOUSE 27 

“How much did you get for her?” says the 
mother. 

“O,” says he, “it was not for money at all 
I sold her, but for something far better.” 

“O, Jack! Jack! ” says she, “what have you 
done?” 

“Just wait until you see, mother,” says he, 
“and you will soon say I have done well.” 

Out of his pocket he takes the Bee and the 
Harp and sets them in the middle of the floor, 
and whistles to them, and as soon as he did 
this the Bee began to play the Harp, and the 
mother she looked at them and let a big, great 
laugh out of her, and she and Jack began to 
dance, the pots and pans, the wheels and reels 
began to jig and dance over the floor, and the 
house itself hopped about also. 

When Jack picked up the Bee and the Harp 
again the dancing all stopped, and the mother 
laughed for a long time. But when she came 
to herself, she got very angry entirely with 
Jack, and she told him he was a silly, foolish 
fellow, that there was neither food nor money 
in the house, and now he had lost one of her 
good cows also. “We must do something to 


28 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 

live,” says she. “Over to the fair you must go 
to-morrow morning, and take the black cow 
with you and sell her.” 

And off in the morning at an early hour 
brave Jack started, and never halted until he 
was in the fair. When he came into the fair, 
he saw a big crowd gathered in a ring in the 
street. Said Jack to himself, “I wonder what 
are they looking at.” 

Into the crowd he pushed, and saw the wee 
man this day again with a Mouse and a Bum- 
clock, and he put them down in the street and 
whistled. The Mouse and the Bum-clock 
stood up on their hind legs and got hold of 
each other and began to dance there and jig, 
and as they did there was not a man or woman 
in the street who didn’t begin to jig also, and 
Jack and the black cow, and the wheels and 
the reels, and the pots and pans, all of them 
were jigging and dancing all over the town, 
and the houses themselves were jumping and 
hopping about, and such a place Jack or any 
one else never saw before. 

When the man lifted the Mouse and the 
Bum-clock into his pocket, they all stopped 


BEE, HARP, AND MOUSE 29 

dancing and settled down, and everybody 
laughed right hearty. The man turned to 
Jack. “Jack,” said he, “I am glad to see you; 
how would you like to have these animals?” 

“I should like well to have them,” says 
Jack, says he, “only I cannot.” 

“Why cannot you?” says the man. 

“O,” says Jack, says he, “I have no money, 
and my poor mother is very down-hearted. 
She sent me to the fair to sell this cow and 
bring some money to lift her heart.” 

“O,” says the man, says he, “if you want to 
lift your mother’s heart I will sell you the 
Mouse, and when you set the Bee to play the 
Harp and the Mouse to dance to it, your 
mother will laugh if she never laughed in her 
life before.” 

“But I have no money,” says Jack, says he, 
“to buy your Mouse.” 

“I don’t mind,” says the man, says he, “I 
will take your cow for it.” 

Poor Jack was so taken with the Mouse and 
had his mind so set on it, that he thought it 
wis a grand bargain entirely, and he gave the 
man his cow, and took the Mouse and started 


30 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 
off for home, and when he got home his 
mother welcomed him. 

“Jack,” says she, “I see you have sold the 
cow.” 

“I did that,” says Jack. 

“Did you sell her well?” says she. 

“Very well indeed,” says Jack, says he. 

“How much did you get for her?” 

“I didn’t get money,” says he, “but I got 
value.” 

“O, Jack! Jack!” says she, “what do you 
mean?” 

“I will soon show you that, mother,” says 
he, taking the Mouse out of his pocket and the 
■Harp and the Bee and setting all on the floor; 
and when he began to whistle the Bee began 
to play, and the Mouse go up on its hind legs 
and began to dance and jig, and the mother 
gave such a hearty laugh as she never laughed 
in her life before. To dancing and jigging 
herself and Jack fell, and the pots and pans 
and the wheels and reels began to dance and 
jig over the floor, and the house jigged a^o. 
And when they were tired of this, Jack lift id 
the Harp and the Mouse and the Bee and put 


BEE, HARP, AND MOUSE 31 

them in his pocket, and his mother she laughed 
for a long time. 

But when she got over that she got very 
down-hearted and very angry entirely with 
Jack. “And O, Jack,” she says, “you are a 
stupid good-for-nothing fellow. We have 
neither money nor meat in the house, and here 
you have lost two of my good cows, and I have 
only one left now. To-morrow morning,” she 
says, “you must be up early and take this cow 
to the fair and sell her. See to get something 
to lift my heart up.” 

“I will do that,” says Jack, says he. So he 
went to his bed, and early in the morning he 
was up and turned out the spotty cow and 
went to the fair. 

When Jack got to the fair, he saw a crowd 
gathered in a ring in the street. “I wonder 
what they are looking at, anyhow,” says he. 
He pushed through the crowd, and there he 
saw the same wee man he had seen before, with 
a Bum-clock; and when he put the Bum-clock 
on the ground, he whistled, and the Bum-clock 
began to dance, and the men, women, and 
children in the street, and Jack and the spotty 


32 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 
cow began to dance and jig also, and every- 
thing on the street and about it, the wheels 
and reels, the pots and pans, began to jig, and 
the houses themselves began to dance likewise. 
And when the" man lifted the Bum-clock and 
put it in his pocket, everybody stopped jigging 
and dancing and everyone laughed loud. The 
wee man turned, and saw Jack. 

“Jack, my brave boy,” says he, “you will 
never be right fixed until you have this Bum- 
clock, for it is a very fancy thing to 
have.” 

“O, but,” says Jack, says he, “I have no 
money.” 

“No matter for that,” says the man; “you 
have a cow, and that is as good as money to 
me.” 

“Well,” says Jack, “I have a poor mother 
who is very down-hearted at home, and she 
sent me to the fair to sell this cow and raise 
some money and lift her heart.” 

“O, but Jack,” says the wee man, “this Bum- 
clock is the very thing to lift her heart, for 
when you put down your Harp and Bee and 
Mouse on the floor, and put the Bum-clock 


BEE, HARP, AND MOUSE 33 

along with them, she will laugh if she never 
laughed in her life before. ,, 

“Well, that is surely true,” says Jack, says 
he, “and I think I will make a swap with 
you.” 

So Jack gave the cow to the man and took 
the 'Bum-clock himself, and started for home. 
His mother was glad to see Jack back, and says 
she, “Jack, I see that you have sold the cow.” 

“I did that, mother,” says Jack. 

“Did you sell her well, Jack?” says the 
mother. 

“Very well indeed, mother,” says Jack. 

“How much did you get for her?” says the 
mother. 

“I didn’t take any money for her, mother, 
but value,” says Jack, and he takes out of his 
pocket the Bum-clock and the Mouse, and set 
them on the floor and began to whistle, and the 
Bee began to play the Harp and the Mouse 
and the Bum-clock stood up on their hind legs 
and began to dance, and Jack’s mother 
laughed very hearty, and everything in the 
house, the wheels and the reels, and the pots 
and pans, went jigging and hopping over the 


34 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 
floor, and the house itself went jigging and 
hopping about likewise. 

When Jack lifted up the animals and put 
them in his pocket, everything stopped, and 
the mother laughed for a good while. But 
after a while, when she came to herself, and 
saw what Jack had done and how they were 
now without either money, or food, or a cow, 
she got very, very angry at Jack, and scolded 
him hard, and then sat down and began to 
cry. 

Poor Jack, when he looked at himself, con- 
fessed that he was a stupid fool entirely. 
“And what,” says he, “shall I now do for my 
poor mother?” He went out along the road, 
thinking and thinking, and he met a wee 
woman who said, “Good-morrow to you, 
Jack,” says she, “how is it you are not trying 
for the king’s daughter of Ireland?” 

“What do you mean?” says Jack. 

Says she: “Didn’t you hear what the whole 
world has heard, that the King of Ireland has 
a daughter who hasn’t laughed for seven years, 
and he has promised to give her in marriage, 
and to give the kingdom along with her to 


BEE, HARP, AND MOUSE 35 

any man who will take three laughs out of 
her.” 

“If that is so,” says Jack, says he, “it is not 
here I should be.” 

Back to the house he went, and gathers to- 
gether the Bee, the Harp, the Mouse, and the 
Bum-clock, and putting them into his pocket, 
he bade his mother good-bye, and told her it 
wouldn’t be long till she got news from him, 
and off he hurries. 

When he reached the castle, there was a 
ring of spikes all round the castle and men’s 
heads on nearly every spike there. 

“What heads are these?” Jack asked one of 
the king’s soldiers. 

“Any man that comes here trying to win the 
king’s daughter and fails to make her laugh 
three times, loses his head and has it stuck on 
a spike. These are the heads of the men that 
failed,” says he. 

“A mighty big crowd,” says Jack, says he. 
Then Jack sent word to tell the king’s daugh- 
ter and the king that there was a new man 
who had come to win her. 

In a very little time the king and the king’s 


36 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 

daughter and the king’s court all came out 
and sat themselves down on gold and silver 
chairs in front of the castle, and ordered 
Jack to be brought in until he should have his 
trial. Jack, before he went, took out of his 
pocket the Bee, the Harp, the Mouse, the 
Bum-clock, and he gave the Harp to the Bee, 
and he tied a string to one and the other, and 
took the end of the string himself, and 
marched into the castle yard before all the 
court, with his animals coming on a string be- 
hind him. 

When the queen and the king and the court 
and the princes saw poor ragged Jack with his 
Bee, and Mouse, and Bum-clock hopping be- 
hind him on a string, they set up one roar of 
laughter that was long and loud enough, and 
when the king’s daughter herself lifted her 
head and looked to see what they were laugh- 
ing at, and saw Jack and his paraphernalia, 
she opened her mouth and she let out of her 
such a laugh as was never heard before. 

Then Jack dropped a low courtesy, and 
said, “Thank you, my lady; I have one of the 
three parts of you won.” 


BEE, HARP, AND MOUSE 371 

Then he drew up his animals in a circle, and 
began to whistle, and the minute he did, the 
Bee began to play the Harp, and the Mouse 
and the Bum-clock stood up on their hind legs, 
got hold of each other, and began to dance, 
and the king and the king’s court and Jack 
himself began to dance and jig, and everything 
about the king’s castle, pots and pans, wheels 
and reels, and the castle itself began to dance 
also. And the king’s daughter, when she saw 
this, opened her mouth again, and let out of 
her a laugh twice louder than she let before, 
and Jack, in the middle of his jigging, drops 
another courtesy, and says, “Thank you, my 
lady; that is two of the three parts of you 
won.” 

Jack and his menagerie went on playing and 
dancing, but J ack could not get the third laugh 
out of the king’s daughter, and the poor fel- 
low saw his big head in danger of going on 
the spike. Then the brave Mouse came to 
Jack’s help and wheeled round upon its heel, 
and at it did so its tail swiped into the Bum- 
clock’s mouth, and the Bum-clock began to 
cough and cough and cough. And when the 


88 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 



BVDfcU. ° ^ 

The Mouse and the Bum-clock stood up. 


BEE, HARP, AND MOUSE 39 
king’s daughter saw this she opened her 
mouth again, and she let the loudest and hard- 
est and merriest laugh that was ever heard be- 
fore or since; and, “Thank you, my lady,” says 
Jack, dropping another courtesy; “I have all 
of you won.” 

Then when Jack stopped his menagerie, the 
king took himself and the menagerie within 
the castle. He was washed and combed, and 
dressed in a suit of silk and satin, with all 
kinds of gold and silver ornaments, and then 
was led before the king’s daughter. And 
true enough she confessed that a handsomer 
and finer fellow than Jack she had never seen, 
and she was very willing to be his wife. 

Jack sent for his poor old mother and 
brought her to the wedding, which lasted nine 
days and nine nights, every night better than 
the other. All the lords and ladies and gentry 
of Ireland were at the wedding. I was at it, 
too, and got brogues, broth and slippers of 
bread and came jigging home on my head. 


THE TALE OF THE POINTER TRAY 


I N a voyage which I made to the East In- 
dies with Captain Hamilton, I took a 
favorite pointer with me; he was, to use a 
common phrase, worth his weight in gold, for 
he never deceived me. One day, when we 
were, by the best observations we could make, 
at least three hundred leagues from land, my 
dog pointed. I observed him for nearly an 
hour with astonishment, and mentioned the 
circumstance to the captain and every officer 
on board, asserting that we must be near land, 
for my dog smelt game. This occasioned a 
general laugh; but that did not alter in the 
least the good opinion I had of my dog. 
After much conversation pro and con, I boldly 
told the captain that I placed more confi- 
dence in Tray’s nose than I did in the eyes of 
every seaman on board ; and therefore boldly 
proposed laying the sum I had agreed to pay 
for my passage (viz., one hundred guineas) 
that we should find game within half an hour. 


TALE OF THE POINTER TRAY 41 
The captain (a good hearty fellow) laughed 
again, desired Mr. Crawford, the surgeon, 
who was prepared, to feel my pulse. He did 
so, and reported me in perfect health. The 
following dialogue between them took place; 
I overheard it, though spoken low and at some 
distance : — ■ 

Captain. His brain is turned; I cannot 
with honor accept his wager. 

Surgeon. I am of a different opinion. He 
is quite sane, and depends more upon the scent 
of his dog than he will upon the judgment of 
all the officers on board ; he will certainly lose, 
and he richly merits it. 

Captain. Such a wager cannot be fair on 
my side; however, I’ll take him up, if I re- 
turn his money afterwards. 

During the above conversation, Tray con- 
tinued in the same situation, and confirmed 
me still more in my opinion. I proposed the 
wager a second time; it was then accepted. 

Done! and done! were scarcely said on both 
sides, when some sailors who were fishing in 
the long boat, which was made fast to the stern 
of the ship, harpooned an exceedingly large 



TALE OF THE POINTER TRAY 43 
shark, which they brought on board and be- 
gan to cut up for the purpose of barrelling the 
oil, when, behold, they found no less than SIX 
BRACE OF LIVE PARTRIDGES in this 
animal’s stomach! 

They had been so long in that situation, that 
one of the hens was sitting upon four eggs, and 
a fifth was hatching, when the shark was 
opened! 

This young bird we brought up by placing it 
with a litter of kittens that came into the world 
a few minutes before. The old cat was as 
fond of it as any of her own four-legged prog- 
eny, and made herself very unhappy when 
it flew out of her reach till it returned again. 
As to the other partridges, there were four 
hens amongst them ; one or more were, during 
the voyage, constantly sitting, and conse- 
quently we had plenty of game at the captain’s 
table; and in gratitude to poor Tray (for be- 
ing a means of winning one hundred guineas) 
I ordered him the bones daily, and sometimes 
a whole bird. 


THE ENCHANTED PRINCESS 


I N a certain kingdom there once served in 
the king’s army a soldier. He served 
him honestly and faithfully for twenty-five 
years. For his good service the king gave him 
a leave of absence, and presented him with his 
war-horse and armor. The soldier bade fare- 
well to his comrades and went home. He 
traveled one day, another day, a third day, 
and a whole week. The soldier had no money 
to buy food for himself or for his horse, and 
his home was still very far off. He was 
very hungry and tired. He looked all around 
and saw a large and beautiful castle. 

“Well,” thought he, “I will try to enter it; 
perhaps they will take me into service and I 
can earn something.” 

He entered the castle, put his horse in the 
stable, gave it food, and went to the palace. 
In one of the rooms a table was set with the 
best foods and drinks a person could wish for. 
He ate and drank and thought of taking a rest. 


THE ENCHANTED PRINCESS 45 

Suddenly a bear entered. “Do not be 
afraid, young man. You can do me some 
good. I am not a frightful bear; I am a fair 
maiden, an enchanted princess. If you will 
pass three nights here, my enchantment will 
be broken, and I will marry you.” 

The soldier consented. The bear left, and 
he was all alone. He felt so sad. A great 
anxiety took hold of him, and he felt such a 
longing to depart that he almost lost his mind. 
The third night he decided to leave the castle, 
and to flee. But no matter how he looked and 
searched, he could find no way of escape. He 
had to remain in the castle against his will. 
In the morning the princess came in. She 
was as beautiful as a dream. She thanked him 
for the service and told him to get ready for 
the wedding. The wedding was celebrated 
and they lived happily together. 

After some time the soldier thought of his 
old home and wanted to visit it. 

“Stay here, my friend ! Do not go. Aren’t 
you happy here?” asked the princess. 

But the soldier insisted upon going to see 
his old parents. Before departing, his wife 


46 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 
gave him a small bag full of seeds, “Wherever 
you go throw these seeds on both sides of the 
road ; wherever they fall trees will grow up ; 
upon the trees rare fruits will grow, beautiful 
birds will sing.” 

The soldier mounted his good old horse 
and departed. Wherever he went, he threw 
the magic seeds; and after him forests rose as 
if creeping out of the earth. On the third 
evening of his journey, in the middle of an 
open field, he saw a group of men sitting upon 
the grass, playing cards. Near them a kettle 
was hanging, and though there was no fire 
under it, the soup inside was boiling. 

“What a wonder!” thought the soldier. 
“No fire is to be seen yet the kettle is boiling 
hot. Let me look at it.” He turned his 
horse, approached the men and said, “Good 
evening, honest people. You have a wonder- 
ful thing: a kettle boiling without fire, but I 
have something more wonderful.” 

He took out one seed and threw it upon the 
ground. In a minute a tree grew up, rare 
fruit upon its branches, wonderful birds sing- 
ing beautiful songs. Now the soldier did not 


THE ENCHANTED PRINCESS 47 

know that these men were the magicians that 
had enchanted the princess, his wife. They 
recognized him. 

“Oh,” said they, “that is the same fellow, 
who saved the princess. Let us make him 
sleep for half a year.” 

They treated him with an enchanted drink. 
The soldier immediately fell fast asleep, and 
the men with the kettle disappeared. 

Soon after this the princess took a walk in 
her garden. There she saw that all the tree- 
tops were dry and dead. “That foretells me 
nothing good”; thought she. “Something 
wrong must have happened to my husband. 
He has been away for three months- already. 
It is time for him to come back, and as yet I 
have heard nothing of him.” She decided 
then to go to look for him. 

She went by the same road over which the 
soldier had gone. On both sides forests were 
growing, and birds were singing. But after 
a while she reached the place where there were 
no more trees. The road was clearly marked 
in the open field. She thought, “Where 
could my husband have gone? I hope he has 


48 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 



Hardly had she spoken these words, when raging winds came 
blowing and whistling. 


( THE ENCHANTED PRINCESS 49 

not been swallowed up by the earth.” She 
looked around and saw aside from the road a 
wonderful tree, and under it her husband. 
She ran to him, shook him, called him, but 
could not wake him up. She pinched him, 
stuck pins into his body but he felt no pain. 
He was lying as one dead and did not move. 

The princess became angry, and in her anger 
she cursed him. “O, you wretched sleepy- 
head! I wish a storm would raise you, and 
carry you off, far away to unknown countries !” 

Hardly had she spoken these words, when 
raging winds came blowing and whistling, and 
raised the soldier and carried him off before 
the princess’ eyes. The princess felt sorry 
for her bad words, but it was too late. She 
cried bitterly, but could not get her husband 
back. She returned to her palace, and lived 
there a sad and lonely life. 

The poor soldier was carried by the wind 
through many lands and seas, and was thrown 
upon a very lonely sand-bank between two 
seas. If in his sleep he should turn to his 
right or to his left, he would fall into the sea 
and perish. For half a year he slept and did 


50 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 


not move a finger. When he awoke, he 
jumped straight upon his feet and looked 
around. From both sides the waves were ris- 
ing, and there was no end to the waters. He 
asked himself in surprise, “How did I come 
here? Who brought me hither?” 

He went along the bank and came to an 
island. There he saw a very high and steep 
mountain. Its top reached the clouds. Upon 
it there was a large stone. He approached 
the mountain and saw at its foot three men 
fighting. They were the sons of a malicious 
magician. 

“What is the matter?” asked the soldier. 
“What are you fighting for?” 

“You see,” answered they, “our father died 
and left us three wonderful things: a flying 
carpet, seven-league boots, and an invisible 
cap. But we cannot divide them peaceably.” 

“O you silly magicians! Stop your fight- 
ing! If you wish, I will divide the things be- 
tween you so that everyone shall be satisfied.” 

The magicians consented. 

“Now,” said the soldier, “do you see that 
large stone upon the mountain top? Climb 


THE ENCHANTED PRINCESS 51 


up to it, push it down the mountain, and run 
after it; whoever shall reach the stone first, 
shall choose among the three wonders; the 
the second one, between the two wonders; 
and the third shall take that which shall 
be left.” 

The magicians climbed up, pushed the 
stone, and ran after it. It was rolling down 
very quickly. One reached it, seized upon it 
— the stone turned over, fell upon him and 
killed him. The same happened to the other 
two magicians. 

The soldier took the seven-league boots, the 
invisible cap, sat down upon the flying carpet 
and went to look for his kingdom. After some 
time he came to a hut; and entered. An old 
fairy lived there. 

“Good morning, grandmother! Tell me 
how to find my dear little princess.” 

“I do not know, my dear! I have never 
seen her, nor heard of her. Go to the other 
side of the ocean. There lives my older sis- 
ter. She knows more than I do ; perhaps she 
will tell you.” 

The soldier flew upon his carpet to the older 


52 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 
fairy. The journey was very long. When 
he felt hungry or thirsty, he had only to put 
on his invisible cap, go to the shops, and there 
he had everything he wished. At last he came 
to the older fairy. 

“Good morning, grandmother. Can’t you 
tell me how to find my beautiful princess?” 

“No, dear! I can’t tell you. But you cross 
many oceans and many lands until you reach 
the end of the world. There lives my oldest 
sister; perhaps she knows about the prin- 
cess.” 

The soldier felt very much discouraged, but 
he was anxious to find his wife. He went then 
to look for the oldest fairy. He traveled for 
a very, very long time over many seas and 
many lands until he came to the end of the 
world. A single hut was standing, and be- 
yond it nothing could be seen but thick dark- 
ness. 

“Well,” thought the soldier sadly, “if I 
don’t find out anything here, I can fly no 
further.” 

He went into the hut. There he saw an old, 
old fairy. Her teeth had fallen out, her hair 


THE ENCHANTED PRINCESS 53 

was white like snow. She was half blind and 
lame. 

“Good morning, grandmother! Tell me, 
please, where to find my princess?” 

“Wait awhile,” said the fairy. “I will call 
all the winds and ask them. They blow all 
over the world, so they must know where she 
lives.” 

She went out upon the porch and called in 
a loud voice. Suddenly from all sides raging 
winds arose and blew, so that the hut trem- 
bled. “Be calmer!” cried she, and said, “O 
you, my raging winds, you blow all over the 
world ; have you seen anywhere the beautiful 
princess?” 

“No, we have not seen her, answered all 
the winds.” 

“Are you all here?” 

“All but the South Wind.” 

After a short time the South Wind came. 
The old fairy asked him angrily, “Where were 
you until now? I have been waiting impa- 
tiently for you.” 

“Pardon me, grandmother! I went into a 
new kingdom where a beautiful princess lives. 


54 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 

Her husband disappeared no one knows 
where. Now different kings and princes 
come to woo her.” 

“And how far is it to that kingdom?” 

“It will take thirty years to walk thither, 
ten years to fly upon wings, and if I blow I can 
carry one over in three hours.” 

Then the soldier with tears in his eyes, 
begged the South Wind to carry him to his 
princess. 

“Well,” said the South Wind, “I will do 
it if you will allow me to blow in your king- 
dom for three days and three nights.” 

“You may blow for three weeks if you like ” 

“All right. Let me take a rest of three 
days. I will gather my strength, and then we 
will go.” 

The South Wind rested and then said to the 
soldier, “Now, my friend, get ready for the 
journey; but do not be afraid; I will not hurt 
you 1” 

Suddenly the strong wind whistled and 
blew, the soldier was raised in the air, and 
carried over mountains and seas, right under 
the clouds, and in just three hours he was 


THE ENCHANTED PRINCESS 55 

in the new kingdom where the beautiful 
princess lived. 

The South Wind said, “Good-bye, young 
man! I pity you, and do not want to blow in 
your kingdom.” 

The young prince asked, “Why so?” 

“Because, if I begin to blow, not one house 
will be left in the cities, not one tree in the 
gardens. I will overthrow everything.” 

“Good-bye, South Wind! Thank you for 
your service to me,” said the soldier, put on his 
invisible cap, and went into the palace. 

All the time while he had been away, the 
trees had been standing with dried and faded 
tops; now when he appeared again, they re- 
vived and began to blossom. He entered the 
large room. Around the table there were sit- 
ting all the many kings and princes that had 
come to woo the princess, feasting. When 
one of them put the wine-glass to his lips, the 
soldier hit upon the glass and broke it. All 
the guests were surprised, but the beautiful 
princess guessed the meaning of it immedi- 
ately. 

“My husband must have come back,” 


56 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 

thought she. She looked through the win- 
dow into the garden. There all the trees 
were alive again, and covered with blossoms. 
So she gave to her guests a riddle to solve: “I 
had a wonderful hand-made casket with a 
golden key to it. I had lost my key and had 
never expected to find it; and suddenly the key 
has found itself. Whoever shall guess the 
riddle shall be my husband.’’ 

All the kings and princes tried in vain to 
solve it. Then the princess said, “Come out 
and show yourself, my beloved!” 

The soldier took off his invisible cap, took 
the white hands of the princess, and kissed her 
sweet lips. 

“Here is the key to my riddle,” said the fair 
princess. “The casket is myself, and the 
golden key is my faithful husband.” 

All the wooers had to go home with noth- 
ing, and the princess and the soldier lived 
happily ever after . — Translated from Russian 
folklore by Helen Schoenberg . 


'IT IS QUITE TRUE ! ; 


aqn HAT is a terrible story!” said a Hen in 
a quarter of the town where the affair 
had not happened. “That is a terrible story 
from a poultry-yard. I dare not sleep 
alone to-night ! It is quite fortunate that there 
are so many of us on the roost together!” 
And she told a tale, which made the feath- 
ers of the other hens stand on end, and 
the cock’s comb fall down flat. It is quite 
true! 

But we will begin at the beginning; and 
that took place in a poultry-yard in another 
part of the town. The sun went down, and 
the fowls jumped up on their perch to roost. 
There was a Hen, with white feathers and 
short legs, who laid eggs regularly and was 
a respectable hen in every way; as she flew 
up on to the roost she pecked herself with her 
beak, and a little feather fell from her. 

“There it goes!” said she; “the more I peck 
myself the handsomer I grow!” And she said 

67 


58 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 
it quite merrily, for she was a joker among 
the hens, though, as I have said, she was very 
respectable; and then she went to sleep. 

It was dark all around ; the hens sat side by 
side on the roost, but the one that sat next to 
the merry Hen did not sleep : she heard and 
she didn’t hear, as one should do in this world 
if one wishes to live in peace; but she could 
not help telling it to her neighbor. 

“Did you hear what was said here just now? 
I name no names ; but here is a hen who wants 
to peck her feathers out to look well. If I 
were a cock I should despise her.” 

And just above the hens sat the Owl, with 
her husband and her children; the family had 
sharp ears, and they all heard every word that 
the neighboring Hen had spoken. They 
rolled their eyes, and the Mother-Owl clapped 
her wings and said, 

“Don’t listen to it! But I suppose you 
heard what was said there? I heard it with 
my own ears, and one must hear much be- 
fore one’s ears fall off. There is one among 
the fowls who has so completely forgotten 
what is becoming conduct in a hen that she 


59 


“IT IS QUITE TRUE I” 

pulls out all her feathers, while the cock sits 
looking at her.” 

“Prenez garde aux enfants,” said the Fath- 
er-Owl. “That’s not a story for the children 
to hear.” 

“I’ll tell it to the neighbor owl; she’s a very 
proper owl to associate with.” And she flew 
away. 

“Hoo! hoo! to-whool” they both screeched 
in front of the neighbor’s dove-cote to the 
doves within. “Have you heard it? Have 
you heard it? Hool hoo! there’s a hen who 
has pulled out all her feathers for the sake of 
the cock. She’ll die with cold, if she’s not 
dead already.” 

“Coo ! coo ! Where, where?” cried the Pig- 
eons. 

“In the neighbor’s poultry-yard. I’ve as 
good as seen it myself. It’s hardly proper to 
repeat the story, but it’s quite true!” 

“Believe it! believe every single word of it!” 
cooed the Pigeons, and they cooed down into 
their own poultry-yard. “There’s a hen, and 
some say that there are two of them that have 
plucked out all their feathers, that they may 


60 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 



“Pass it on,” piped the bats. 


61 


“IT IS QUITE TRUE l” 

not look like the rest, and that they may at- 
tract the cock’s attention. That’s a dangerous 
thing to do, for one may catch cold and die of 
a fever, and they are both dead.” 

“Wake up! wake upP’crowed the Cock, and 
he flew up on to the plank; his eyes were still 
heavy with sleep, but yet he crowed. “Three 
hens have died of a broken heart. They have 
plucked out all their feathers. That’s a ter- 
rible story. I won’t keep it to myself; pass it 
on.” 

“Pass it on!” piped the Bats; and the fowls 
clucked and the cocks crowed, “Pass it on! 
Pass it on!” And so the story traveled from 
poultry-yard to poultry-yard, and at last came 
back to the place from which it had gone 
forth. 

“Five fowls,” it was told, “have plucked 
out all their feathers to show which of them 
had become thinnest out of love to the cock; 
and then they have pecked each other, and 
fallen down dead, to the shame and disgrace 
of their families, and to the great loss of their 
master.” 

And the Hen who had lost the little loose 


62 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 


feather, of course did not know her own story 
again; and as she was a very respectable Hen, 
she said, — 

“I despise those hens ; but there are many of 
that sort. One ought not to hush up such a 
thing, and I shall do what I can that the story 
may get into the papers, and then it will be 
spread over all the country, and that will 
serve those hens right, and their families too.” 

It was put into the newspaper; it was 
printed; and it’s quite true — that one little 
feather may easily become five hens . 


THE OLD HAG’S LONG LEATHER BAG 


O NCE on a time, long, long ago, there was 
a widow woman who had three daugh- 
ters. When their father died, their mother 
thought they never would want, for he had 
left her a long leather bag filled with gold and 
silver. But he was not long dead, when an 
old hag came begging to the house one day 
and stole the long leather bag filled with gold 
and silver, and went away out of the country 
with it, no one knew where. 

So from that day, the widow woman and her 
three daughters were poor, and she had a 
hard struggle to live and to bring up her 
three daughters. 

But when they were grown up, the eldest 
said one day: “Mother, I’m a young woman 
now, and it’s a shame for me to be here doing 
nothing to help you or myself. Bake me a 
bannock and cut me a callop, till I go away to 
push my fortune.” 

The mother baked her a whole bannock, 


64 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 
and asked her if she would have half of it 
with her blessing or the whole of it without. 
She said to give her the whole bannock with- 
out. 

So she took it and went away. She told 
them if she was not back in a year and a day 
from that, then they would know she was do- 
ing well, and making her fortune. 

She traveled away and away before her, far 
further than I could tell you, and twice as far 
as you could tell me, until she came into a 
strange country, and going up to a little house, 
she found an old hag living in it. The hag 
asked her where she was going. She said she 
was going to push her fortune. 

Said the hag: “How would you like to 
stay here with me, for I want a maid?” 

“What will I have to do?” said she. 

“You will have to wash me and dress me, 
and sweep the hearth clean; but on the peril 
of your life, never look up the chimney,” said 
the hag. 

“All right,” she agreed to this. 

The next day, when the hag arose, she 
washed her and dressed her, and when the 


THE HAG’S LEATHER BAG 65 
hag went out, she swept the hearth clean, and 
she thought it would be no harm to have one 
wee look up the chimney. And there what 
did she see but her own mother’s long leather 
bag of gold and silver? So she took it down 
at once, and getting it on her back, started for 
home as fast as she could run. 

But she had not gone far when she met a 
horse grazing in a field, and when he saw her, 
he said: “Rub me! Rub me! for I haven’t 
been rubbed these seven years.” 

But she only struck him with a stick she had 
in her hand, and drove him out of her way. 

She had not gone much further when she 
met a sheep, who said “O, shear me! Shear 
me! for I haven’t been shorn these seven 
years.” 

But she struck the sheep, and sent it scurry- 
ing out of her way. 

She had not gone much further when she 
met a goat tethered, and he said : “O, change 
my tether! Change my tether! for it hasn’t 
been changed these seven years.” 

But she flung a stone at him, and went on. 

Next she came to a lime-kiln, and it said: 


66 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 
“O, clean me! Clean me! for I haven’t been 
cleaned these seven years.” 

■But she only scowled at it, and hurried on. 

After another bit she met a cow, and it said : 

“O, milk me! Milk me! for I haven’t been 
milked these seven years.” 

She struck the cow out of her way, and went 
on. 

Then she came to a mill. The mill said: 
“O, turn me! Turn me! for I haven’t been 
turned these seven years.” 

But she did not heed what it said, only went 
in and lay down behind the mill door, with the 
bag under her head, for it was then night. 

When the hag came into her hut again and 
found the girl gone, she ran to the chimney and 
looked up to see if she had carried off the bag. 
She got into a great rage, and she started to 
run as fast as she could after her. 

She had not gone far when she met the 
horse, and she said : “O, horse, horse of mine, 
did you see this maid of mine, with my tig, 
with my tag, with my long leather bag, and 
all the gold and silver I have earned since I 
was a maid?” 


THE HAG’S LEATHER BAG 67 

“Ay,” said the horse, “it is not long since 
she passed here.” 

So on she ran, and it was not long till she 
met the sheep, and said she: “Sheep, sheep of 
mine, did you see this maid of mine, with my 
tig, with my tag, with my long leather bag, 
and all the gold and silver I have earned 
since I was a maid?” 

“Ay,” said the sheep, “it is not long since 
she passed here.” 

So she goes on, and it was not long before 
she met the goat, and said she: “Goat, goat of 
mine, did you see this maid of mine, with my 
tig, with my tag, with my long leather bag, 
and all the gold and silver I have earned since 
I was a maid?” 

“Ay,” said the goat, “it is not long since 
she passed here.” 

So she goes on, and it was not long before 
she met the lime-kiln, and said she: “Lime- 
kiln, lime-kiln of mine, did you see this 
maid of mine, with my tig, with my tag, 
with my long leather bag, and with all the 
gold and silver I have earned since I was a 
maid?” 


68 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 

“Ay,” said the lime-kiln, “it is not long 
since she passed here.” 

So she goes on, and it was not long before 
she met the cow, and said she, “Cow, cow of 
mine, did you see this maid of mine, with my 
tig, with my tag, with my long leather bag, 
and all the gold and silver I have earned since 
I was a maid?” 

“Ay,” said the cow, “it is not long since she 
passed here.” 

So she goes on, and it was not long before 
she met the mill, and said she: “Mill, mill of 
mine, did you see this maid of mine, with my 
tig, with my tag, with my long leather bag, 
and all the gold and silver I have earned since 
I was a maid?” 

And the mill said: “Yes, she is sleeping be- 
hind the door.” 

She went in and struck her with a white rod, 
and turned her into a stone. She then took 
the bag of gold and silver on her back, and 
went away back home. 

A year and a day had gone by after the 
eldest daughter left home, and when they 
found she had not returned, the second 


THE HAG’S LEATHER BAG 69 

daughter got up, and said: “My sister must be 
doing well and making her fortune, and isn’t 
it a shame for me to be sitting here doing 
nothing, either to help you, mother, or myself. 
Bake me a bannock,” said she, “and cut me 
a callop, till I go away to push my fortune.” 

The mother did this, and asked her would 
she have half the bannock with her blessing or 
the whole bannock without. 

She said the whole bannock without, and she 
set off. Then she said : “If I am not back here 
in a year and a day, you may be sure that I 
am doing well and making my fortune,” and 
then she went away. 

She traveled away and away on before her, 
far further than I could tell you, and twice as 
far as you could tell me, until she came into a 
strange country, and going up to a little house, 
she found an old Hag living in it. The old 
Hag asked her where she was going. She 
said she was going to push her fortune. 

Said the hag: “How would you like to stay 
here with me, for I want a maid?” 

“What will I have to do?” says she. 

“You’ll have to wash me and dress me, and 


70 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 
sweep the hearth clean; and on the peril of 
your life never look up the chimney,” said 
the hag. 

“All right,” she agreed to this. 

The next day, when the hag arose, she 
washed her and dressed her, and when the 
hag went out she swept the hearth, and she 
thought it would be no harm to have one wee 
look up the chimney. And there what did 
she see but her own mother’s long leather 
bag of gold and silver? So she took it down 
at once, and getting it on her back, started 
away for home as fast as she could run. 

But she had not gone far when she met a 
horse grazing in a field, and when he saw her, 
he said: “Rub me! Rub me! for I haven’t 
been rubbed these seven years.” 

But she only struck him with a stick she had 
in her hand, and drove him out of her way. 

She had not gone much further when she 
met the sheep, who said: “O, shear me! Shear 
me! for I haven’t been shorn in seven years.” 

But she struck the sheep, and sent it scurry- 
ing out of her way. 

She had not gone much further when she 


THE HAG’S LEATHER BAG 71 
met the goat tethered, and he said : “O, change 
my tether! Change my tether! for it hasn’t 
been changed in seven years.” 

But she flung a stone at him, and went 
on. 

Next she came to the lime-kiln, and that 
said: “O, clean me! Clean me! for I haven’t 
been cleaned these seven years.” 

But she only scowled at it, and hurried on. 

Then she came to the cow, and it said: “O, 
milk me! Milk me! for I haven’t been milked 
these seven years.” 

She struck the cow out of her way, and went 
on: 

Then she came to the mill. The mill said : 
“O, turn me! Turn me! for I haven’t been 
turned these seven years.” 

But she did not heed what it said, only 
went in and lay down behind the mill door, 
with the bag under her head, for it was then 
night. 

When the hag came into her hut again and 
found the girl gone, she ran to the chimney 
and looked up to see if she had carried off 
the bag. She got into a great rage, and she 


72 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 

started to run as fast as she could after her. 

She had riot gone far when she met the 
horse, and she said: “O, horse, horse of mine, 
did you see this maid of mine, with my tig, 
with my tag, with my long leather bag, and 
all the gold and silver I have earned since I 
was a maid?” 

“Ay,” said the horse, “it is not long since 
she passed here.” 

So on she ran, and it was not long until 
she met the sheep, and said she: “Oh, sheep, 
sheep of mine, did you see this maid of mine, 
with my tig, with my tag, with my long leather 
bag, and all the gold and silver I have earned 
since I was a maid?” 

“Ay,” said the sheep, “it is not long since she 
passed here.” 

So she goes on, and it was not long before 
she met the goat, and said: “Goat, goat of 
mine, did you see this maid of mine, with my 
tig, with my tag, with my long leather bag, 
and all the gold and silver I have earned since 
I was a maid?” 

“Ay,” said the goat, “it is not long since 
she passed here.” 


THE HAG’S LEATHER BAG 73 

So she goes on, and it was not long before 
she met the lime-kiln, and said she: “Lime- 
kiln, lime-kiln of mine, did you see this maid 
of mine, with my tig, with my tag, with my 
long leather bag, and all the gold and silver 
I have earned since I was a maid?” 

“Ay,” said the lime-kiln, “it is not long 
since she passed here.” 

So she goes on, and it was not long before 
she met the cow, and says she: “Cow, cow of 
mine, did you see this maid of mine, with my 
tig, with my tag, with my long leather bag, 
and all the gold and silver I have earned since 
I was a maid?” 

“Ay,” said the cow, “it is not long since 
she passed here.” 

So she goes on, and it was not long before 
she met the mill, and said she: “Mill, mill of 
mine, did you see this maid of mine, with 
my tig, with my tag, with my long leather 
bag, and all the gold and silver I have earned 
since I was a maid?” 

And the mill said: “Yes, she is sleeping 
behind the door.” 

She went in and struck her with a white 


74 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 



‘Going up to a little house, she found an old hag.’ 


THE HAG’S LEATHER BAG 75 

rod, and turned her into a stone. She then 
took the bag of gold and silver on her back 
and went home. 

When the second daughter had been gone 
a year and a day and she hadn’t come back, 
the youngest daughter said: “My two sisters 
must be doing very well indeed, and making 
great fortunes when they are not coming back, 
and it’s a shame for me to be sitting here do- 
ing nothing, either to help you, mother, or 
myself. Make me a bannock and cut me a 
callop, till I go away and push my for- 
tune.” 

The mother did this and asked her would 
she have half of the bannock with her bless- 
ing or the whole bannock without. 

She said: “I will have half of the bannock 
with your blessing, mother.” 

The mother gave her a blessing and half a 
bannock, and she set out. 

She traveled away and away on before her, 
far further than I could tell you, and twice 
as far as you could tell me, until she came 
into a strange country, and going up to a 
little house, she found an old hag living in it. 


,76 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 
[The hag asked her where she was going. She 
said she was going to push her fortune. 

Said the hag: “How would you like to 
Stay here with me, for I want a maid?” 

“What will I have to do?” said she. 

“You’ll have to wash me and dress me, and 
sweep the hearth clean; and on the peril of 
your life never look up the chimney,” said 
the hag. 

“All right,” she agreed to this. 

The next day when the hag arose, she 
washed her and dressed her, and when the hag 
went out she swept the hearth, and she thought 
it would be no harm to have one wee look 
up the chimney, and there what did she see but 
her own mother’s long leather bag of gold 
and silver? So she took it down at once, and 
getting it on her back, started away for home 
as fast as she could run. 

When she got to the horse, the horse said: 
“Rub me! Rub me! for I haven’t been rubbed 
these seven years.” 

“Oh, poor horse, poor horse,” she said, “I’ll 
surely do that.” And she laid down her bag, 
and rubbed the horse. 


THE HAG’S LEATHER BAG 77 

Then she went on, and it wasn’t long be- 
fore she met the sheep, who said: “Oh, shear 
me, shear me! for I haven’t been shorn these 
seven years.” 

“O, poor sheep, poor sheep,” she said, “I’ll 
surely do that,” and she laid down the bag, and 
sheared the sheep. 

On she went till she met the goat, who 
said: “O, change my tether! Change my 
tether! for it hasn’t been changed these seven 
years.” 

“O, poor goat, poor goat,” she said, “I’ll 
surely do that,” and she laid down the bag, 
and changed the goat’s tether. 

Then she went on till she met the lime-kiln. 
The lime-kiln said: “O, clean me! clean me! 
for I haven’t been cleaned these seven 
years.” 

“O, poor lime-kiln, poor lime-kiln,” she 
said, “I’ll surely do that,” and she laid down 
the bag and cleaned the lime-kiln. 

Then she went on and met the cow. The 
cow said: “O, milk me! Milk me! for I 
haven’t been milked these seven years.” 

“O, poor cow, poor cow,” she said, “I’ll 


78 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 
surely do that,” and she laid down the bag 
and milked the cow. 

At last she reached the mill. The mill 
said: “O, turn me! turn me! for I haven’t been 
turned these seven years.” 

“O, poor mill, poor mill,” she said, “I’ll 
surely do that,” and she turned the mill too. 

As night was on her, she went in and lay 
down behind the mill door to sleep. 

When the hag came into her hut again and 
found the girl gone, she ran to the chimney 
to see if she had carried off the bag. She 
got into a great rage, and started to run as 
fast as she could after her. 

She had not gone far until she came up to 
the horse and said: “O, horse, horse of mine, 
did you see this maid of mine, with my tig, 
with my tag, with my long leather bag, and all 
the gold and silver I have earned since I was 
a maid?” 

The horse said: “Do you think I have noth- 
ing to do only watch your maids for you? 
You may go somewhere else and look for 
information.” 

Then she came upon the sheep. “O, sheep. 


THE HAG’S LEATHER BAG 79 
sheep of mine, have you seen this maid of 
mine, with my tig, with my tag, with my long 
leather bag, and all the gold and silver I 
have earned since I was a maid?” 

The sheep said: “Do you think I have noth- 
ing to do only watch your maids for you? 
You may go somewhere else and look for in- 
formation.” 

Then she went on till she met the goat. 
“O, goat, goat of mine, have you seen this maid 
of mine, with my tig, with my tag, with my 
long leather bag, and all the gold and silver 
I have earned since I was a maid?” 

The goat said: “Do you think I have noth- 
ing to do only watch your maids for you? 
You can go somewhere else and look for in- 
formation.” 

Then she went on till she came to the lime- 
kiln. “O, lime-kiln, lime-kiln of mine, did 
you see this maid of mine, with my tig, with 
my tag, with my long leather bag, and all the 
gold and silver I have earned since I was a 
maid?” 

Said the lime-kiln: “Do you think I have 
nothing to do only watch your maids for you? 


80 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 
You may go somewhere else and look for in- 
formation.” 

Next she met the cow. “O, cow, cow of 
mine, have you seen this maid of mine, with 
my tig, with my tag, with my long leather bag, 
and all the gold and silver I have earned since 
I was a maid?” 

The cow said : “Do you think I have noth- 
ing to do only watch your maids for you? 
You may go somewhere else and look for in- 
formation.” 

Then she got to the mill. “O, mill, mill of 
mine, have you seen this maid of mine, with 
my tig, with my tag, with my long leather bag, 
and all the gold and silver I have earned since 
I was a maid?” 

The mill said: “Come nearer and whisper 
to me.” 

She went nearer to whisper to the mill, and 
the mill dragged her under the wheels and 
ground her up. 

The old hag had dropped the white rod 
out of her hand, and the mill told the young 
girl to take this white rod and strike two stones 
behind the mill door. She did that, and her 


THE HAG’S LEATHER BAG 81 


two sisters stood up. She hoisted the leather 
bag on her back, and the three of them set 
out and traveled away and away till they 
reached home. 

The mother Had been crying all the time 
while they were away, and was now ever so 
glad to see them, and rich and happy they all 
lived ever after. 


THE WOLF AND THE SEVEN LITTLE 
GOATS 


T HERE was once an old goat who had 
seven little ones, and was as fond of them 
as ever mother was of her children. One day 
she had to go into the wood to fetch food for 
them, so she called them all round her. 

“Dear children,” said she, “I am going out 
into the wood; and while I am gone, be on 
your guard against the wolf, for if he were 
once to get inside he would eat you up, skin, 
bones, and all. The wretch often disguises 
himself, but he may always be known by his 
hoarse voice and black paws.” 

“Dear mother,” answered the kids, “you 
need not be afraid, we will take good care of 
ourselves.” And the mother bleated good- 
bye, and went on her way with an easy 
mind. 

It was not long before some one came knock- 
ing at the house-door, and crying out, 


THE WOLF AND THE GOATS 83 


“Open the door, my dear children, your 
mother is come back, and has brought each 
of you something.” 

But the little kids knew it was the wolf by 
the hoarse voice. 

“We will not open the door,” cried they; 
“you are not our mother, she has a delicate and 
sweet voice, and your voice is hoarse ; you must 
be the wolf.” 

Then off went the wolf to a shop and bought 
a big lump of chalk, and ate it up to make 
his voice soft. And then he came back, 
knocked at the house-door, and cried, 

“Open the door, my dear children, your 
mother is here, and has brought each of you 
something.” 

But the wolf had put up his black paws 
against the window, and the kids seeing this, 
cried out, 

“We will not open the door; our mother 
has no black paws like you; you must be the 
wolf.” 

The wolf then ran to a baker. 

“Baker,” said he, “I am hurt in the foot; 
pray spread some dough over the place.” 


84 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 

And when the baker had plastered his feet, 
he ran to the miller. 

^Miller,” said he, “strew me some white 
meal over my paws.” But the miller refused, 
thinking the wolf must be meaning harm to 
some one. 

“If you don’t do it,” cried the wolf, “I’ll 
eaf you up!” 

And the miller was afraid and did as he was 
told. And that just shows what men are. 

And now came the rogue the third time to 
the door and knocked. “Open, children!” 
cried he. “Your dear mother has come home, 
and brought you each something from the 
wood.” 

“First show us your paws,” said the kids, 
“so that we may know if you are really our 
mother or not.” 

And he put up his paws against the win- 
dow, and when they saw that they were white, 
all seemed right, and they opened the door; 
and when he was inside they saw it was the 
wolf, and they were terrified and tried to 
hide themselves. One ran under the table, the 
second got into the bed, the third into the oven, 


THE WOLF AND THE GOATS 85 
the fourth in the kitchen, the fifth in the cup- 
board, the sixth under the sink, and the seventh 
in the clock-case. But the wolf found them 
all, and gave them short shrift; one after the 
other he swallowed down, all but the young- 
est, who was hid in the clock-case. And so 
the wolf, having got what he wanted, strolled 
forth into the green meadows, and laying him- 
self down under a tree, he fell asleep. 

Not long after, the mother goat came back 
from the wood; and oh! what a sight met her 
eyes ! the door was standing wide open, table, 
chairs, and stools, all thrown about, dishes 
broken, quilt and pillows torn off the bed. 
She sought her children, they were nowhere 
to be found. She called to each of them by 
name, but nobody answered, until she came 
to the name of the youngest. 

“Here I am, mother,” a little voice cried, 
“here, in the clock-case.” 

And so she helped him out, and Heard how 
the wolf had come, and eaten all the rest. 
And you may think how she cried for the loss 
of her dear children. At last in her grief 
she wandered out of doors, and the youngest 


86 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 



# ‘The mother sewed him up so quickly again, that he was none 
the wiser.” 



THE WOLF AND THE GOATS 87 

kid with her; and when they came into the 
meadow, there they saw the wolf lying under 
a tree, snoring so that the branches shook. 
The mother goat looked at him carefully on 
all sides and she noticed how something in- 
side his body was moving and struggling. 

“Dear me!” thought she, “can it be that my 
poor children that he devoured for his evening 
meal are still alive?” And she sent the little 
kid back to the house for a pair of shears, and 
needle, and thread. Then she cut the wolf’s 
body open, and no sooner had she made one 
snip than out came the head of one of the kids, 
and then another snip, and then one after the 
other of the six little kids all jumped out alive 
and well, for in his greediness the rogue had 
swallowed them down whole. How delight- 
ful this was! so they comforted their dear 
mother and hopped about like tailors at a 
wedding. 

“Now fetch some good hard stones,” said 
the mother, “and we will fill his body with 
them, as he lies asleep.” 

And so they fetched some in all haste, and 
put them inside him, and the mother sewed 


88 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 
him up so quickly again that he was none 
the wiser. 

When the wolf at last awoke, and got up, 
the stones inside him made him feel very 
thirsty, and as he was going to the brook to 
drink, they struck and rattled one against an- 
other. And so he cried out: 

“What is this I feel inside me 
Knocking hard against my bones? 

How should such a thing betide me ! 

They were kids, and now they’re stones.” 

So he came to the brook, and stooped to 
drink, but the heavy stones weighed him down, 
so he fell over into the water and was drowned. 
And when the seven little kids saw it they 
came up running. 

“The wolf is dead, the wolf is dead!” they 
cried, and taking hands, they danced with 
their mother all about the place. 


THE TALE OF THE SNOW AND THE 
STEEPLE 


I SET off from Rome on a journey to Rus- 
sia, in the midst of winter, from a just no- 
tion that frost and snow must of course mend 
the roads, which every traveler had de- 
scribed as uncommonly bad through the north- 
ern parts of Germany, Poland, Courland, and 
Livonia. I went on horseback as the most 
convenient manner of traveling. I was but 
lightly clothed, and of this I felt the incon- 
venience the more I advanced northeast 
What must not a poor old man have suffered 
in that severe weather and climate, whom I 
saw on a bleak common in Poland lying on 
the road helpless, shivering, and hardly hav- 
ing the wherewithal to cover his nakedness? 
I pitied the poor soul: though I felt the se- 
verity of the air myself, I threw my mantle 
over him, and immediately I heard a voice 
from the heavens blessing me for that piece 


90 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 



“I took one of my pistols, shot the bridle in two.” 



THE SNOW AND STEEPLE 91 

of charity, saying, “You will be rewarded, my 
son, for this in time.” 

I went on : night and darkness overtook me. 
No village was to be seen. The country was 
covered with snow, and I was unacquainted 
with the road. 

Tired, I alighted, and fastened my horse to 
something, like a pointed stump of a tree, 
which appeared above the snow; for the sake 
of safety, I placed my pistols under my arm, 
and laid down on the snow, where I slept 
so soundly that I did not open my eyes till 
full daylight. It is not easy to conceive my 
astonishment to find myself in the midst of 
a village, lying in a churchyard ; nor was my 
horse to be seen, but I heard him soon after 
neigh somewhere above me. On looking up- 
wards, I beheld him hanging by his bridle to 
the weather-cock of the steeple. Matters were 
now very plain to me; the village had been 
covered with snow overnight: a sudden change 
of weather had taken place: I had sunk down 
to the churchyard whilst asleep, gently, and 
in the same proportion as the snow had melted 
away ; and what in the dark I had taken to be 


92 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 


a stump of a little tree appearing above the 
snow, to which I had tied my horse, proved to 
be the cross or weather-cock of the steeple! 

With long consideration, I took one of my 
pistols, shot the bridle in two, brought down 
the horse, and proceeded on my journey. 
[Here the baron seems to have forgotten his 
feelings : he should certainly have ordered his 
horse a feed of com after fasting so long.] 


KING TONGBEARD 


A STORY about King Berendey; his son 
Prince Ivan ; about the cunning of the 
immortal King Koshchey, and about the wis- 
dom of his daughter, Princess Mary. 

Once upon a time there lived King Beren- 
dey, called Longbeard, for his beard reached 
far below his knees. He lived very happily 
with his wife the queen, but God gave no 
children to them, and this grieved the king 
very much. 

The king had to visit his kingdom. He 
bade farewell to his queen, and stayed away 
for a long time. At the end of the 
visit on a very warm afternoon, when he 
was approaching his capital, he decided to 
stop for a rest in the meadow. He felt very 
thirsty and wanted some cold water to drink, 
but there was no water around. What should 
he do? He was all dried up with thirst. So 
the king decided to ride all over the meadow, 

93 


94 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 
perhaps he would strike a spring. And sure 
enough, he soon found a well. 

Hurriedly he jumped down from his horse, 
and looked into the well. It was full of water 
to the brim, and upon its surface there was 
floating a golden cup. The king reached his 
hand after the cup, but he could not grasp it. 
The cup swam away from his reach. He 
grasped impatiently at the amber handle now 
with his right hand, now with his left; but 
the handle, quickly turning to the left or to 
the right, as if but mocking the king, could 
not be caught. What was the matter? The 
king waited until the cup stood up again 
straight in the water, grasped it at once from 
the right and the left, but in vain! Slipping 
out from his hands like a fish, the cup dived 
straight to the bottom, and again it was swim- 
ming on the surface as if nothing had hap- 
pened. 

“Now wait,” thought King Longbeard, “ I 
will drink without you,” and stretching him- 
self upon the grass, he began to drink with 
eagerness the cold spring water, forgetting 


KING LONGBEARD 95 

about his beard, which was drowned in the 
water. 

When he had drunk enough, he wanted to 
raise his head, but he could not do it: some- 
body was holding the king’s beard and did 
not want to let it go. Leaning upon the fence 
of the well, he tried to get himself loose, shook 
himself, turned his head, but all was in vain; 
he could not free his beard. “Let me go,” 
cried he. No answer. Only a terrible mon- 
ster looked up to him from the bottom, two 
big eyes shining like emeralds; the widely 
open mouth queerly smiling, two rows of shin- 
ing pearly teeth, and a red tongue sticking out 
between them. The monster was laughing at 
the king. With its paws it was firmly hold- 
ing the king’s beard. 

At last a hoarse voice said from under the 
water, “It is no use trying, King. I shall not 
let you go. But if you want to be free, give 
me that which you possess, but which you do 
not know about.” 

The king thought, “What could that be that 
I have and do not know about? It seems to 


96 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 

me that I know everything,” so he answered 
the monster, “All right, I agree.” 

“Very well,” the hoarse voice was heard to 
answer once more, “but look out, keep your 
word, that no harm may happen to you.” 
With the last word the claws disappeared, 
with the monster. 

Having freed his beard, the king mounted 
his horse, and continued his journey. As he 
entered his capital, all the people came out 
to meet him, cannons were playing, and all the 
bells were ringing from the city towers. The 
king approached his gilded palace. The 
queen was standing upon the balcony, near her 
the prime minister; in his arms he held a bro- 
caded pillow upon which there was lying a 
baby, fair and beautiful like the moon. 

Then the king guessed and groaned, “There 
is what I did not know about! O, you mon- 
ster, you will be the death of mine!” So 
thought the king and cried bitterly. 

All wondered, but no one said a word. 
Taking the baby into his arms, King Long- 
beard admired it long, carried it into the pal- 
ace, put it into the cradle, and hiding his sor- 


KING LONGBEARD 97 

row, he began to rule over his country as 
formerly. Nobody knew the king’s secret. 
But everybody saw the king was sad — he was 
always expecting somebody to come for his 
son. During the day he found no rest, at 
night he could not sleep. The time was pass- 
ing meanwhile, and nobody came. The young 
prince grew very rapidly and developed into 
a beautiful youth. The king himself forgot 
all that happened at the well — but not every- 
body was so forgetful. 

Once the prince, while hunting, came into 
a very thick forest. He looked around: a 
wild glade was before him. Upon it stood a 
hollow lime tree. A rustling came from the 
hollow, and a very queer looking old man 
came out with a green beard and green eyes. 

“Hello! Prince Ivan,” said he, “we were 
looking for you. It is time to think of us.” 

“Who are you?” asked Ivan. 

“I will tell you later about it. Now do 
this for me: give my regards to your father, 
King Longbeard, and ask him whether it is 
not time for him to pay his debt? The term 
has passed long ago. He will understand the 


98 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 
rest. Now good-bye,” and the bearded old 
man disappeared. 

Prince Ivan, very cad and thoughtful, left 
the dark forest. He went straight to his 
father, King Longbeard. 

“Dear father king,” said he, “a miracle oc- 
curred to me,” — and he told him what he had 
seen and heard. 

The king became pale like a ghost. “Woe 
to me, my dear son Ivan,” cried he weeping 
bitterly, “I see that we must part!” and he 
told to his son the terrible story about his 
given oath. 

“Do not cry, do not worry, father,” an- 
swered the prince. “The calamity is not so 
great. Give me a steed. I will go and you 
wait for me ; keep the secret, that nobody may 
know about it, not even my mother the queen. 
But if I do not come back to you in a year, 
know that I am no longer alive.” The prince 
was fitted out for the journey. King Long- 
beard gave him gold armor, a sword, and a 
steed. The queen gave him her blessing and 
a golden cross upon his neck— and the young 


KING LONGBEARD 99 

prince departed. What is going to happen 
to him? 

He rode for one day, for another, for a 
third, and on the fourth day right after sun- 
set, he came to a lake. The lake was smooth 
like glass ; the water was on a level with the 
shores; everything around was desert. The 
water was covered with the rosy evening glow 
and the green shores with the thick reeds were 
reflected in it. Everything seemed as if in a 
dream. The air did not move; the reeds did 
not stir, there was no rustle upon the light 
streams. The prince looked around and what 
did he see? Thirty crested white ducks were 
swimming near the shore, upon the shore were 
lying thirty white gowns. The prince dis- 
mounted very cautiously at some distance. 
Hidden by the grass he crept towards the 
gowns and quickly took one of them. Then he 
rested himself behind a bush to see what was 
going to happen. The ducks swam and splat- 
tered in the stream, played, dived, and at last 
got to the shore. Twenty-nine of them ran 
to the white gowns, knocked themselves upon 


100 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 


the ground, and all turned themselves into fair 
maidens, dressed and went away. But the 
thirtieth duck ran up and down with a pitiful 
cry. Shyly stretching her neck forward, she 
looked here and there, now flying up, now 
coming down again. The prince felt pity for 
her. He came out from behind his bush, and 
behold, she spoke to him in a human voice. 

“Prince Ivan, give me back my gown and 
I will be useful to you.” 

The prince did not let her wait, but put the 
gown upon the grass and suddenly what did he 
see? A maiden in white robes, young and 
beautiful. She gave him her hand and with 
downcast, bashful eyes said to him: 

“Thank you, good prince, for your kind- 
ness to me. You did me a favor, but it will 
be of good service to you also. I am the daugh- 
ter of the immortal King Koshchey, Princess 
Mary. He has thirty daughters altogether. 
He is the ruler of the underground kingdom. 
He has expected you as his guest for a long 
time, and is very angry at your delay. But 
do not worry. Only follow my advice. 
Now listen. As soon as you shall see King 


KING LONGBEARD 


101 


Koshchey, kneel and creep before him upon 
your knees. He will stamp with his feet, but 
do not be frightened. When he scolds you, 
do not listen, but keep on creeping before 
him. What will happen, you will see later. 
Now we must go.” 

Princess Mary struck the ground with her 
small foot, the earth opened, and they went 
down into King Koshchey’s underground 
kingdom. They came to the palace. It was 
built of precious stones and shone under the 
ground brighter than the earthly sun. Boldly 
the prince entered. King Koshchey sat upon 
his throne wearing a glittering crown, his 
eyes shone like emeralds. His hands were 
like claws. Ivan immediately fell upon his 
knees. King Koshchey stamped with his feet, 
his green eyes glittered frightfully, and he 
howled so loudly that the vaults of his un- 
derground kingdom trembled. Remember- 
ing the words of the Princess Mary, Ivan 
crept upon his knees toward King Koshchey’s 
throne. 

The king howled and the prince kept on 
creeping. Finally it seemed funny to the 


102 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 


king. “Good for you, rogue,” said he, “if you 
could succeed in making me laugh, I will 
quarrel with you no longer. You are wel- 
comed to our underground kingdom, but 
know that for your disobedience you will have 
to do three services for us. We will settle 
our accounts to-morrow. It is too late to- 
night. Go !” 

The courtiers quickly and politely took 
Ivan under his arms, and carried him to a 
chamber, opened the door, bowed, and left 
him all to himself. He lay down upon the 
bed and soon fell asleep. The next morning 
very early King Koshchey called for Prince 
Ivan. “Well, Prince Ivan, now let us see 
what you can do. For instance, build for us 
a palace for to-morrow. The roof must be 
of gold, the walls of marble, the windows of 
crystal ; around it a regular garden, and in the 
garden a fish-pond. If you do it, you will get 
into our favor ; if not, do not blame us, but you 
shall be executed.” 

“O, you cruel King Koshchey!” thought 
Ivan. “This is an impossible thing for me to 
do.” 


KING LONGBEARD 103 

Greatly grieved he went to his room and 
thought his sad thoughts. In the evening a 
bright bee came flying to his window, flapped 
against the pane, and he heard a voice saying 
“Let me in!” He opened the window, the 
bee flew inside and turned into Princess Mary. 

“Hello, Prince Ivan! Why are you so 
sad?” 

“I have good reasons to be so. Your father 
wants to have me executed.” 

“What have you decided to do?” 

“Nothing. Let him do it. Go where you 
can and die where you must.” 

“No, my dear Prince Ivan. We must not 
lose our courage. There are still greater ca- 
lamities in the world than yours. Go to 
sleep, and get up very early. The palace will 
be built for you. You will only have to go 
around it, and knock with your hammer at the 
walls as if finishing your work.” 

And so it was. Very early in the morn- 
ing Ivan came out of his chamber, and be- 
hold! The palace was all built for him. 

King Koshchey was surprised. He did no! 
believe his own eyes. “O, you are a very skill- 


104 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 



All the Princesses were there. 


KING LONGBEARD 105 
ful fellow indeed. Now let us see whether 
you are just as clever. I have thirty daugh- 
ters, beautiful princesses. To-morrow I will 
place all of them in a row; you will pass 
three times before them and tell me which 
is the youngest of them. If you don’t guess, 
you shall die. Now go.” 

“Is that hard to guess?” thought the 
prince, “I certainly will recognize Princess 
Mary.” 

“It is very hard,” said the princess, who flew 
as a bee into his room, “and if I do not help 
you, you will get into trouble. We thirty 
sisters look all alike. So great is the resem- 
blance between us, that our father can recog- 
nize us only by our dress.” 

“What am I to do then?” 

“I will tell you what: I will be the one who 
has a small black fly on the right cheek. But 
beware! Look very carefully; it is easy to 
make a mistake.” And the bee disappeared. 

The next day the prince was again called 
to King Koshchey. All the princesses were 
there, and all dressed alike stood in a row with 
downcast eyes. 


106 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 

“Well,” said the king, pass three times be- 
fore these beauties and tell us which of them 
is Princess Mary.” 

Ivan looked at them and thought, “What a 
resemblance.” He passed the first time and 
saw no fly; passed for the second time — still 
no fly; passed the third time and saw a tiny 
fly stealing its way across the fresh burning 
cheek of one of the princesses. The prince 
blushed and his heart was beating with joy. 
“Here she is, Princess Mary,” said he, giving 
his hand to the beauty with the fly upon her 
cheek.” 

“Ah, ah! I see there must be something 
wrong about it,” grumbled King Koshchey, 
looking angrily at the prince with his big 
green eyes. “It is true you did recognize 
Princess Mary, but how did you guess it? 
Wait now, I will soon find out the truth. In 
three hours come back to us. You will be 
welcomed as our guest, but you will have to 
prove to us your wisdom by deeds. I will 
light a straw, and you will have to make here 
upon the spot while the straw is burning, a 
pair of shoes. It is not hard for you. But 


KING LONGBEARD 107 

remember if you fail to do it, you shall pay 
for it with your life.” 

Very much irritated, Ivan returned to his 
room. The bee-princess was waiting for him. 

“Why are you so sad again, my dear Prince 
Ivan?” 

“How can I be joyful?” answered he. 
“Your father is plotting a new trick against 
me. He wants me to make a pair of boots 
while a straw is burning. Am I a shoe- 
maker? I am a king’s son, not worse by birth 
than he is. He is immortal, but does this give 
him a right to treat me so badly?” 

“So, Prince Ivan, what are you going to do 
now?” 

“What can I do? I cannot make the 
boots. Let him take my head off. I do not 
care any longer 1” 

“Oh, no, my dear prince! Are we not now 
bride and bridegroom? I will try to save 
you. We will both be saved or both perish. 
We must run away.” Saying this the princess 
breathed upon the window. Her breath im- 
mediately froze to the panes. Then she and 


108 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 

the prince left the room, locked the door, and 
threw the key far away.” 

Arm in arm they went up, and in a minute 
they were in the place of entrance to the un- 
derground kingdom. The same lake, low 
grassy shore, fresh meadow, and upon it the 
good steed of Prince Ivan. As soon as the 
sturdy steed felt its rider, it neighed, jumped, 
ran straight towards him, and stood as if 
rooted to the spot. Ivan did not think long, 
but mounted the horse, lifted the princess, and 
off they went as quick as lightning. 

Meanwhile King Koshchey sent his cour- 
tiers at the appointed hour for Prince Ivan. 
They came to the door and found it locked. 
They knocked, and from behind the Princess’ 
breath answered in the voice of Prince Ivan, 
“I am coming.” The servants took the an- 
swer to the king. He waited and waited and 
no prince came. The angry King Koshchey 
sent his servants again and they brought the 
same answer. Nobody came, King Koshchey 
was almost mad with anger. 

“Does he want to mock me? Run, break 


KING LONGBEARD 109 

the door, and take by force that ill-bred 
fellow.” 

The servants ran, the door was broken up. 
What a surprise ! Nobody was inside, but the 
breath was loudly laughing at them. 

King Koshchey almost burst with anger. 
“O, you miserable thief! Come here, my 
people! All to me, my servants! Run, all 
of you, in pursuit of them. They have de- 
parted.” 

“I hear the tramping of horses feet,” whis- 
pered the princess, clasping the prince. 

He dismounted, and putting his ear against 
the ground said, “Yes, I hear the chase, and 
it is quite near.” 

“Then we must not lose our time,” said 
Princess Mary, and in a minute she turned 
into a river, the prince into an iron bridge the 
steed into a black raven, and the large road 
was divided into three smaller roads. 

Swiftly the chase was coming by the fresh 
tracks, but when they came to the river, they 
stopped perplexed. Up to the bridge they 
could follow the track, but beyond it the track 


110 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 
was lost. Nothing could be done. They had 
to go back. 

King Koshchey was terribly angry when 
he heard about their failure. “You fools!” 
cried he. “The river and the bridge must 
have been they. Couldn’t you guess it, you 
idiots! Go again, and do not fail to bring 
them with you.” 

The pursuit started anew. 

“I hear the tramping of horses,” said 
Princess Mary to Prince Ivan. 

He dismounted again, put his ear against 
the ground and said, “Yes, they are tramping, 
and pretty near us.” 

In a second Princess Mary, together with 
Prince Ivan and the steed, turned into a wild 
dark forest. In that forest there were num- 
berless paths, and a horse with two riders 
seemed to gallop through it. Now the chase 
came by the fresh track to the forest. They 
saw the riders and ran after them. The forest 
reached as far as King Koshchey’s under- 
ground kingdom. The chase was flying and 
the horse with the two riders was always be- 
fore them. Now they almost reached them, 


KING LONGBEARD 


111 


now they only had to grasp them, — but no, the 
steed was again far behind them. And seel 
There they were again before the entrance to 
King Koshchey’s kingdom at the same place 
where they started their chase; and every- 
thing disappeared, — no more horse, no more 
forest. 

With empty hands the pursuers appeared 
before King Koshchey. Like one mad the 
king tossed about. “Wait until I catch that 
wretch! I will go myself now. Let us see 
how they are going to escape me!” 

Again Princess Mary whispered to Prince 
Ivan, “I hear tramping.” 

Again he answered her, “Yes, they are ap- 
proaching us.” 

“Woe to us I This is my father himself; 
but his power reaches only to the first church. 
Give me the cross you wear upon your neck.” 

The prince took from his neck the golden 
cross, the gift of his mother, gave it to the 
princess, and in a minute she turned into a 
church, he into a monk, and the steed into a 
bell-tower. 

Right after King Koshchey came with his 


112 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 
suite. “Did you not see any travelers pass by, 
my venerable man?” he asked the monk. 

“Just now Prince Ivan and Princess Mary 
passed by; they went into the church to pray, 
and asked me to pray for your help, and to re- 
member them to you if you should come to 
me. 

“Oh, I wish they would break their necks, 
the wretches!” cried King Koshchey. Turn- 
ing his horse like one possessed, he returned 
home with his suite. After his arrival he 
cruelly whipped all his servants. 

Ivan with the princess went further, no 
longer fearing the pursuit. They were rid- 
ing very slowly. The sun was setting, and 
suddenly in the evening rays they beheld a 
beautiful city. Ivan was very anxious to go 
inside. 

“Prince Ivan,” said the princess, “do not 
go ; not in vain does my heart ache. A mis- 
fortune will happen to us.” 

“What are you afraid of, dear princess? 
Let us go in just for a very short time. 
Let us see the city and then continue the 
journey.” 


KING LONGBEARD 113 

“It is not hard to get in, but it will be hard 
to get out. Do as you please. Go, and I will 
remain here, lying as a white stone upon the 
road. Look out, my dear, be careful. The 
king, queen, and their daughter will come 
out to meet you with a beautiful child; do 
not kiss that child. If you do, you will im- 
mediately forget me; then I will live no 
longer; I will die from grief, and you will 
be the cause of my death. Here at the road 
I will wait for you for three days. If you do 
not come — but good-bye now. Go.” 

Bidding her farewell, the prince went into 
the city. At the road as a white stone re- 
mained Princess Mary. One day passed, an- 
other passed, at last the third day passed. The 
prince did not come. Poor Princess Mary! 
He did not follow her instructions. In the 
city he met the king, queen, and their daugh- 
ter. With them came a beautiful child, a 
curly-headed boy, very lively, his eyes shining 
like bright stars. He ran straight into Ivan’s 
arms. The prince was so charmed with his 
beauty that, losing his mind, he began to kiss 
his warm cheeks, and at the same time his 


114 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 
memory was darkened and he forgot about 
Princess Mary. 

She was seized with grief, “You left me, 
and I do not want to live any longer.” In a 
moment she turned into a sky-blue flower. 
“Here by the road I will remain, perhaps 
somebody passing by will tread me down into 
the earth,” said she, and tears like dew-drops 
glittered upon the blue petals. 

An old man passed that place. He saw the 
blue flower. Delighted with its delicate 
beauty, he dug it carefully out with the roots, 
carried it into his hut, planted it in a flower- 
pot, watered it and cared for it tenderly. 
What happened? From that time everything 
was changed in the poor man’s hut. Some- 
thing wonderful was going on there. When 
the old man awoke, he found the hut all 
cleaned and in perfect order. There was no- 
where a grain of dust to be found. At noon 
when he came home, the dinner was cooked 
and the table neatly set; he had only to sit 
down and eat. He wondered but could not 
explain matters. At last he was frightened 
and went to an old fairy to ask for advice. 


KING LONGBEARD 


115 


“I will tell you what to do,” answered the 
fairy, “get up very early at dawn, before the 
cocks’ sing, and look about the hut. What- 
ever begins to move first, cover it with this 
kerchief. What happens, you will see.” 

The whole night the old man lay sleepless 
in his bed. The sun began to rise, and there 
was light in the hut. Suddenly he saw that 
the blue flower moved, flew off its thin stalk 
and began to fly about the room. Everything 
went right away to its place, everything was 
dusted and cleaned, and a bright fire began 
to burn in the stove. Quickly jumped the old 
man off his bed and covered the flower with 
the fairy’s kerchief and before him there ap- 
peared the beautiful Princess Mary. 

“What have you done?” said she. “Why 
did you bring me to life again? My bride- 
groom, Prince Ivan, left me and I am for- 
gotten by him.” 

“Your Prince Ivan is getting married to- 
day. The wedding-feast is all ready and all 
the guests have arrived.” 

Princess Mary cried bitterly. Then she 
wiped her tears. Putting on a “sarafan” 


Il6 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 

(Russian national dress for women) she went 
into the city as a country girl. She came 
into the king’s kitchen. The cooks were run- 
ning here and there in their white caps and 
aprons. There was plenty of noise, bustle, 
and clatter. She went up to the chief 
cook, and with an imploring face and a 
voice as sweet as a flute said, “Cook dear, 
allow me to bake the wedding cake for the 
prince.” 

The cook, disturbed in his work, wanted 
to refuse her, but no angry word could escape 
his lips when he looked at her, and he an- 
swered very kindly, “Very well, fair maiden, 
do what you please; I myself will serve your 
cake to Prince Ivan.” 

At the feast when all the guests were sitting 
around the table, the chief cook put before 
Ivan a large cake upon a beautiful silver plate. 
All the guests were surprised at the skill of the 
baker. But as soon as Ivan cut off the top of 
it, a new wonder! A pair of pigeons flew out 
of it. The gray male pigeon was walking 
upon the table, and the white female after him 
cooing. “Pigeon, my pigeon, stop, do not run 


KING LONGBEARD 117 

away; you will forget me just as Prince Ivan 
has forgotten Princess Mary.” 

Ivan groaned when he heard this. He 
jumped up like mad, and ran to the door be- 
hind which Mary was waiting. Before the 
palace the black steed all saddled and bridled, 
was impatiently stamping the ground. They 
did not tarry. Ivan and his princess rode 
away. After a long journey they arrived in 
King Longbeard’s kingdom, where the old 
king and queen gave them a joyful reception. 
They prepared for the wedding; guests were 
invited and a great feast feasted. And I was 
there and feasted with them, and that is the 
end of the whole story . — Translated from 
Russian folklore by Helen Schoenberg . 


THE TOY-GOOSE 


FLEA, a Grasshopper, and a Toy-goose 



•a"jL once wanted to see which of them could 
jump highest, and so they invited the whole 
world and everybody else who would like to 
come, to see the frolic. When the three met 
together in the room, everyone thought they 
were remarkable jumpers. 

“Well, I’ll give my daughter to the one 
who jumps highest!” said the king; “for it 
would not be fair to let these people jump for 
nothing!” 

The first one to step forward was the Flea; 
he had such perfect manners and bowed on 
every side, for he had noble blood in his veins, 
and more than that, he associated only with 
human beings, which makes a great difference. 

Then came the Grasshopper; he was cer- 
tainly very much larger, however, he car- 
ried himself well, and wore the green uniform 
he was born with. Moreover, as he said, he 
belonged to a very old family in the land of 


118 


THE TOY-GOOSE 119 

Egypt, and was well thought of here at 
home. 

The fact was, when he was brought out of 
the fields he was put in a house, three storeys 
high, all made of court-cards with the colored 
side turned in; both doors and windows were 
cut out in the waist of the Queen of Hearts. 
“I sing so well,” he said “that sixteen native 
crickets who had chirped since they were born, 
and still had no house of cards to live in, grew 
thinner than they were before out of vexa- 
tion when they heard of me.” 

So it was that the Flea and the Grasshopper 
were able to give a good account of them- 
selves, and saw no reason why they should not 
marry the princess. 

The Toy-goose said nothing; and people 
thought it was because he knew all the more; 
the house-dog sniffed at him with his nose, 
and assured them the Toy-goose was of good 
family. The old councilor, who had three 
orders given him for holding his tongue, said 
that the Toy-goose was a prophet; for one 
could see on his back if there would be a se- 
vere or mild winter, and that was more than 



THE TOY-GOOSE 121 

one could see on the back of the man who 
writes the almanacs. 

‘‘Well, I shall say nothing,” said the king, 
“however I have my own opinion.” 

The trial was to take place at once, so the 
Flea jumped first. He jumped so high that 
nobody could see where he went to; so they 
said he had not jumped at all; which was 
shameful. 

The Grasshopper jumped only half as high ; 
but he jumped right into the king’s face, 
which, the king said was most unpleasant. 

The Toy-goose stood still for a long time, 
thinking to himself ; at last the people believed 
he would not jump at all. 

“I only hope he is not ill,” said the house- 
dog; when, pop! he made a side jump right 
into the lap of the princess, who was sitting 
on a little golden stool close by. 

Then the king said, “There is nothing above 
my daughter; therefore he has made the high- 
est jump that can be made : to do this, one must 
have a good mind and the Toy- goose has 
shown that he has a good mind. He has a 
mind of his own!” 


122 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 
And so he won the princess. 

“It’s all the same to me, she may have the 
old Toy-goose, for all I care,” said the Flea. 
“I jumped the highest; but, in this world a fine 
appearance is what people look at nowadays.” 

The Flea then went into a foreign land and 
enlisted, where it is said, he was killed. 

The Grasshopper sat on a green bank, and 
thought on worldly things; and he said, “Yes, 
a fine appearance is everything — a fine ap- 
pearance is what people care about.” And 
then he began chirping his melancholy song 
from which we have taken this story; and 
which may or may not be true, although it is 
printed. 


YELLOW LILYj 


A FAIRY TALE FROM IRISH FOLK-LORE 

O NCE upon a time, when fairies were as 
plentiful as dandelions in the meadow, 
there dwelt in Ireland a mighty king and 
his good queen. The names of these great 
rulers have long since been forgotten by writ- 
ers of history, for they lived hundreds and 
hundreds of years ago. 

They ruled over Erin, and lived in a great 
stone castle built high upon a cliff overlook- 
ing the sea. Erin was the most beautiful part 
of Ireland, for its forests and great stretches 
of land were as green as the emerald, and 
its skies and waters were as blue as the tur- 
quoise. 

This king and queen had but one child, 
who was known as the Prince of Erin. He 
was a bright, handsome boy, but he cared only 
to have a good time. His father had often 
told him how wrong it was for him to make 
bets, but the lad gave no heed to his advice. 

123 


124 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 

One day the prince went out in the wood to 
hunt for deer. He tramped about all day 
long, carrying his bow and arrows, but no 
deer could he find. At last he sat down to 
rest. 

He was almost asleep when he heard a 
shrill whistle behind him and the tramping of 
heavy feet upon the fallen timbers. 

“Who are you?” cried a loud, gruff voice. 

The prince turned quickly and saw a giant 
striding towards him down the hill. He was 
almost as tall as the tallest tree, and his face 
was frightful to see. His eyes were like balls 
of fire and his nostrils belched forth black 
smoke. 

“Woe is me; it is the Giant of Loch Lein!” 
cried the prince. He wanted to run away as 
fast as he could, but his feet would not move. 
He stood trembling in every limb, for he knew 
that the Giant of Loch Lein hunted in the 
wood for boys just as the boys hunted for 
game. Many a lad had been seized by the 
terrible creature, taken to his castle in the 
heart of the forest, and had never returned to 
his parents. 


125 


YELLOW LILY 

“Who are you?” again roared the giant. 

“I am the son of the King of Erin,” re- 
plied the boy, trying to be brave. 

“I have been waiting for you a long time,” 
said the giant with a laugh that sounded like 
a thunder clap. “I have never eaten a real 
prince, although I have heard that their meat 
is very tender.” 

The prince turned away, weak with fright; 
but the giant seized him and said: 

“Do not be frightened. As you are a son 
of the Ruler of Erin, I will give you a chance 
to escape. I understand that you can play 
fine games, and that you are fond of betting. 
Let us play a game on this hillside. If I 
win, I will take you to my castle, never to re- 
turn to your home again.” 

The prince was so fond of playing games 
that, even in his fright, he agreed to do as 
the giant wished. 

“I have two fine estates, each containing 
a castle,” said the giant. “They are yours if 
you beat me at the game.” 

“And I also have two estates which shall 
be yours, if you beat me,” replied the prince. 


126 STORIES TO READ OR TELL’ 
“No man in Erin has ever beaten me at any; 
game.” 

So they played until dusk, the prince quite 
forgetting his fear of the giant. Although 
the Giant of Loch Lein was a skillful player, 
the Prince of Erin beat him badly. 

“You may go,” grumbled the giant when 
the game was at an end. “You are surely a 
wonderful player — the best in all the land.” 

Most of the old historians agree that the 
Prince of Erin did not tell his parents any- 
thing about his narrow escape from the giant. 
As soon as he reached home, he climbed to 
the top of the tallest tower where he could 
gaze at the forest in the distance, in which 
stood the castle of the giant. 

“I will go again to-morrow and beat the 
giant, for it will be huge sport,” he said to 
himself. “Even if I be beaten, the giant dare 
not destroy the son of the King of Erin, for 
my father’s army will search for me and tear 
down the castle of the giant when I am found. 
Besides, I understand that he has three beau- 
tiful daughters, the fairest girls in all the land. 
I should like to see them.” 


YELLOW LILY 


127 

On the next morning, while the prince was 
preparing to go hunting, the wisest old man in 
the court, whose name was Glic, went to the 
king and said: 

“The prince is about to go hunting. I beg 
you not to let him go, for I fear that some 
great danger will befall him.” 

The king commanded his son to stay inside 
the palace all day; but when no one was look- 
ing, the prince stole away to the hillside near 
the forest. Again he heard a shrill whistle 
that shook the boughs of the trees like a gale, 
and in a few moments he saw the giant strid- 
ing towards him. 

“Ho, ho, my young prince!” cried the 
giant. “I knew that you would come back 
to-day. Let us have another game. What 
will you wager that you can beat me play- 
ing?” 

“I will wager my herd of cattle,” said the 
prince, not so much frightened as before. 

“And I will wager five hundred bullocks 
with gold horns and silver hoofs,” said the 
giant. “I am quite sure you cannot beat me 
again.” 


128 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 

“Agreed,” said the prince, and at once they 
began to play. 

In a short time the prince won the game, 
and the giant set up a howl of rage. Turn- 
ing towards the forest he whistled loudly 
three times, and five hundred bullocks with 
gold horns and silver hoofs came forth. 

“They are yours,” said the giant. “Fol- 
low them to your palace gate and come again 
to-morrow.” 

The prince, filled with the delight of tri- 
umph, followed the cattle to the palace gate 
where the king’s herder took charge of 
them. Then he hastened to his father and 
mother and bade them go to see the costly 
wager he had won from the Giant of Loch 
Lein. 

The king and queen and all the court were 
delighted with the cattle, whose gold horns 
and silver hoofs shone in the sunlight. 

On the third morning the Prince of Erin 
again put on his hunting clothes and started to 
the forest; but Glic, the fortune teller, again 
stopped him. 

“No good can come from this gaming, for 


129 


YELLOW LILY 

the giant will beat you at last, and you will 
never return to us again,” said Glic. 

“I am not afraid,” laughed the prince, “for 
if he take me prisoner, I will have his head.” 

So he set forth again, singing a merry tune. 
Hardly had he seated himself upon the hill- 
side when he heard the giant’s whistle. The 
prince was not at all frightened, although the 
giant scowled with anger because he had been 
obliged to give up his herd of cattle. 

“What will you wager to-day?” roared the 
giant. 

“I will wager my head against yours,” said 
the prince boldly. 

“Ha, ha! you have grown quite brave,” 
laughed the giant mockingly. “I will wager 
my head that I can beat you to-day. If you 
lose the game, I will have your head before 
the sun rises to-morrow.” 

They played on the hillside till dusk. The 
game was a close one, full of breathless in- 
terest and excitement; but the prince was 
beaten. With a shout of triumph the giant 
danced about, trampling down small trees and 
bushes. 


130 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 

The prince was indeed sorry that he had 
wagered such a useful piece of property as 
his head, but he did not complain. 

“You are an honest lad, even though you 
are rash,” he said presently. “I will let you 
live one year and one day longer. Go home 
to the palace, but do not tell anyone that I 
am to have your head. When the time has 
passed by, come back again to the hillside to 
pay your wager.” 

Then the giant vanished, leaving the poor 
prince alone, very sick at heart. He did not 
go home but wandered about, not caring 
whither he went. 

Finally he found that he was in a strange 
land far beyond the border line of Erin. On 
each side were green pasture lands, and in the 
distance were high green hills ; but not a house 
could be seen. 

He wandered on and on, weak from hunger 
till he came to an old hut that stood at the foot 
of a hill. It was lighted by a candle. He 
entered and came face to face with an old 
woman who had been bending over a fire. 
Her teeth were as long as the staff he carried 


YELLOW LILY 1311 

and her scant hair hung loosely about her 
face. 

Before the prince could speak, the old 
woman said: 

“You are welcome in my House, son of the 
King of Erin.” 

Then she took him by the hand, led him 
into a corner of the room, and told him to 
wash his face and hands. In the meantime 
she made him some hot porridge and bade him 
eat a hearty meal. 

The prince was much surprised because she 
knew his name, and he wondered why she re- 
mained so quiet. He thought she must be a 
witch; but hungry boys, no matter how high 
their station, are apt to forget danger when a 
good supper is set before them. After he had 
eaten and drunk all he wanted, he sat by the 
fire until she took him to a bedroom and told 
him to go to bed. 

On the next morning he was awakened by 
the witch, who bade him rise and eat his 
breakfast of bread and milk. 

He did as he was told, without so much as 
bidding her good morning. 


132 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 


“I know what is bothering you, son of the 
King of Erin,” she said. “If you do as I bid 
you, you will have no cause for regret. Here 
is a ball of thread. Hold to one end of the 
thread and throw the ball before you. When 
you start on your journey the ball will roll; 
but you must keep following it and winding 
the thread all the time or you will be lost 
again. You were with me last night; you will 
be with my sister to-night.” 

The prince took the ball of thread; threw 
it before him, and began walking slowly and 
winding the thread into another ball. With 
each step that he took, the ball moved further 
and further away from him. All day long 
he trudged up hill and down dell, faster and 
faster, until his feet and hands were so tired 
he could scarcely move them. At last the ball 
of thread stopped at the door of a hut that 
stood at the foot of a high hill. A candle 
flickered in the window. He picked up the 
ball and ran to the door where he met another 
old witch whose teeth were as long as crutches. 

“Welcome, son of the King of Erin!” she 
cried. “You were with my youngest sister 


133 


YELLOW LILY 
last night; you will be with me to-night; and 
to-morrow you will be with my eldest sister.” 

She took him into the hut, bade him wash 
his hands and face, gave him a hearty supper 
of porridge and cakes, and sent him to bed. 

The next morning she called him to break- 
fast. When he had finished eating, she gave 
him a ball of thread and told him to follow it 
as before. 

The prince followed it through field and 
over common, hurrying faster and faster every 
minute, until late on the following evening, 
when it stopped at the door of a hut that stood 
at the foot of a hill. A candle sputtered in 
the window as if to welcome him. A witch, 
more homely than the others, stood by the fire 
making porridge. 

She greeted the prince as her sisters had 
done, bade him wash his face and hands, gave 
him his supper, and sent him to bed. On the 
following morning after breakfast she gave 
him a ball of thread and said: 

“Son of the Prince of Erin, you have lost 
your head to the Giant of Loch Lein, who 
lives near by in a great castle surrounded by 


134 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 
spikes. Some day you will lose your head to 
his daughter. Follow this ball of thread to 
the lake behind the castle. When you reach 
the lake at midday, the ball will be unwound. 
In a few minutes more the daughters of the 
cruel Giant of Loch Lein will come to the 
lake to bathe. Their names are Blue Lily, 
White Lily, and Yellow Lily. The latter is 
the wisest and most beautiful of the three. 
Steal her clothing and do not give it up until 
she promises to help you, for she is the only 
person in the world that can outwit the Giant 
of Loch Lein.” 

The prince thanked the witch for her ad- 
vice, and followed the ball of thread to the 
Castle of Spikes, which was a dark, gloomy 
building hidden from view by great trees. 
When he reached the lake behind the castle, 
the ball of thread vanished. 

He stood for a time looking at the lake, 
which looked like a brilliant turquoise in the 
sunshine. Presently he heard girlish shouts 
of laughter. He concealed himself behind a 
clump of bushes where he could see without 
being seen. Three beautiful girls came trip- 


YELLOW LILY 135 

ping down to the edge of the water, where 
they stopped to look all about them. 

It was very easy for the prince to make out 
their names. .The tallest one, who wore a 
gown of pale blue, had eyes as blue as the 
skies above; he knew that she must be QBlue 
Lily. 

One of them was so fair that she looked as 
though she were carved from marble; he was 
sure that she was White Lily. But Yellow 
Lily was small and slender, with hair that 
shone like gold in the sunlight. She was won- 
derfully graceful and beautiful. 

Yellow Lily threw off her robe of spun gold 
and stood dressed in a bathing suit of the same 
material. With a joyous shout she leapt into 
the water, followed by her sisters. 

The Prince of Erin darted forth from his 
hiding-place, and seized the robe of spun gold. 
Yellow Lily saw him and cried at the top of 
her voice: 

“Give me back my golden robe. My father 
will kill me if I lose it. Please do not run 
away.” 

“What will you give me for it?” asked the 


136 STORIES TO READ OR TELL’ 
prince, moving slowly backward from the 
pool. 

“Anything that you wish, for I am guarded 
by a fairy godmother who makes all things 
possible,” replied Yellow Lily. 

“I have come to give myself up to your 
father, the Giant of Loch Lein, according to 
my promise,” said the prince. “I would ask 
you to have him set me free. Here is your 
gown.” 

He laid the robe upon the grass and walked 
away up the hill towards the castle. In a few 
moments he was joined by Yellow Lily dressed 
in her golden robe. 

“You are the son of the King of Erin,” she 
said smiling sweetly, and catching step with 
him. “If you do as I say, you will not lose 
your head; but in the future I hope that you 
will never become so foolish as to wager your 
head or any other trifle you may have.” 

“I promise you that I will not,” said the 
prince, looking at her admiringly. “If your 
father had wagered your pretty golden head, 
I believe I could have beaten him at the 
game.” 


[YELLOW LILY 


137 

Yellow Lily tossed her curls and laughed 
merrily, saying: “Father has a soft bed for 
you in a deep tank; but do not worry, for I will 
help you.” 

They passed in silence through the stone 
gates of the Castle of Spikes. The great stone 
courts, balconies, and battlements were quite 
deserted. Yellow Lily took the prince into 
the kitchen, which was the largest one he had 
ever seen. The floor was made of white cob- 
blestones, and a brass caldron boiled over the 
flames in the great fireplace. Yellow Lily hid 
the prince behind a curtain in one corner of 
the room. 

Presently the Giant of Loch Lein appeared 
and sank down into a chair before the fire- 
place. He began to sniff the air and finally 
roared : 

“The son of the King of Erin is here I 
Fetch him hither, Yellow Lily.” 

The girl did as she was bidden. The 
prince could not keep from trembling as he 
stood before the fierce giant, although he felt 
that Yellow Lily would keep her promise. 

“You must be very tired,” roared the giant, 


188 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 
so loudly that the dishes on the shelves rattled. 
“I have a nice soft bed for you.” 

He seized the prince, carried him across the 
kitchen, opened a tank, and threw him in. 
Splash! The prince fell head-first into three 
feet of water. 

What was still more terrible, the giant 
fastened down the lid of the tank. The 
prince feared the dark far more than he did 
the water, but he did not cry out. He stood 
shivering for more than an hour, wondering if 
Yellow Lily had forgotten him, and wishing 
that he was safe at home in his bed of silk and 
gold. 

At last the lid was raised, and Yellow Lily 
peeped down at him, smiling roguishly. 

“Shall I steal your clothes and run away, 
as you tried to do to-day?” she said softly. 

“No, do not let me stay in this place. I 
will do anything you may want me to do,” 
pleaded the prince, with chattering teeth. 

“Then climb out; put on these dry, warm 
clothes I have for you; and have some sup- 
per,” she said. 

It did not take the prince long to get out 


YELLOW LILY 


139 


of his soft bed. He found the giant sound 
asleep before the fireplace, snoring loud 
enough to drown the most terrible crash of 
thunder. 

Yellow Lily spoke not a word, but gave the 
prince some dry clothing and told him to stay 
in the corner until she returned. Before long 
she came back with a tempting supper smok- 
ing upon a tray, and told him to eat. He was 
very hungry and ate very heartily. Then she 
took him to another corner of the room and 
raised a curtain that hung there. 

He saw a soft, white bed and a table that 
held fresh water and towels. Yellow Lily 
wished him happy dreams and hastened away. 

At break of day she returned and said ex- 
citedly: 

“Awaken, Prince of Erin! Do not lose a 
moment or we are lost. Put on the clothes 
you wore yesterday and follow me.” 

The prince rose and dressed himself as 
quickly as possible. Then he drew back the 
curtain that hid his bed, and followed the 
girl. 

“When the chickens begin to cackle, father 


140 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 
swill awaken,” she whispered. “Leap back 
into the tank and I will shut down the lid.” 

The prince hesitated. 

“Do as I say, or we are both lost,” said the 
girl. 

The prince jumped into the tank, and Yel- 
low Lily closed the lid. The splash aroused 
the giant, who stretched his heavy limbs, 
rubbed his nose, and yawned. Then he 
opened his eyes, gazed all about him, strode 
across the room, opened the tank, and shouted: 

“Good morning, Prince of Erin; how did 
you like your nice soft bed last night?” 

“I never slept better, thank you,” truthfully 
answered the prince. 

“Then climb out,” commanded the giant. 

The prince obeyed. 

“Since you have slept so soundly, you shall 
do some hard work to-day,” said the giant. 
“I will spare you your head if you will clean 
out my stables. They contain five hundred 
horses and they have not been cleaned for 
seven hundred years. I am anxious to find 
my great-grandmother’s slumber-pin which 
was lost somewhere in these stables. The 


YELLOW LILY 


141 


poor old soul never slept a wink after losing 
it, so she died for want of sleep. I want the 
slumber-pin for my own use, as I am a very 
light sleeper.” 

“I will do my best to get the pin,” said the 
prince, almost discouraged, for he had never 
so much as cleaned the tips of his boots. 

“Here are two shovels, an old one and a 
new one,” said the giant gruffly. “You may 
take your choice. Dig away until you find 
the slumber-pin. I shall expect it when I 
come home to-night.” 

The prince took the new shovel and fol- 
lowed the giant to the stables where hundreds 
of horses began to neigh, making a most deaf- 
ening noise. 

“Remember, Prince of Erin, I will either 
have the slumber-pin or your head,” said the 
giant, as he walked away. 

The prince set to work, but every time he 
threw a shovelful out of the window, two 
shovelfuls came flying in to take its place. At 
last, tired and discouraged, he sat down to rest. 

At that moment Yellow Lily appeared, 
more beautiful than ever in another gown of 


142 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 
gold and silver, with yellow flowers in her 
golden hair. 

“What are you trying to do, Prince of 
Erin?” she asked, dimpling with laughter. 

“I am trying to find your great-great-grand- 
mother’s slumber-pin,” was the pitiful reply. 

“You are a mighty prince and my father is 
a mighty giant, yet you are both foolish as all 
men are,” she said. “How do you suppose 
my great-great-grandmother could lose her 
slumber-pin in the stables? I have the slum- 
ber-pin myself; here it is. I put it in father’s 
pocket last night so he could not wake up and 
catch us.” 

“What a useful girl you are!” cried the 
Prince, beside himself with joy and admira- 
tion. 

All day long they visited until Yellow Lily 
said that she must go, for she heard her fath- 
er’s footsteps a league away, and he would be 
there in two minutes. 

When the giant saw that the prince had 
found the slumber-pin, he was greatly sur- 
prised. 

“Either my daughter, Yellow Lily, has 


YELLOW LILY 148 

aided you, or else it was the Evil Spirit,” he 
muttered. 

Before the prince could reply, the giant 
picked him up, carried him back to the 
kitchen, and again threw him into the tank. 
Then he sat down by the fire, holding the 
slumber-pin. Soon he began to snore like a 
thousand locomotives. 

Up went the lid of the tank, and Yellow 
Lily, sweet and smiling, shouted down at the 
top of her voice : 

“Get up from your soft bed, Prince of Erin ; 
eat the supper I have prepared, and talk as 
loudly as you wish, for father has gone to 
sleep holding great-great-grandmother’s slum- 
ber-pin.” 

The evening they spent together was a 
merry one, and after Yellow Lily had joined 
her sisters in the watch-tower, the prince again 
slept in the soft bed in the corner of the 
kitchen. At dawn Yellow Lily again awak- 
ened him and told him to hurry back to the 
tank. 

As soon as the lid was closed, Yellow Lily 
rushed to her father’s side, seized the slumber- 


144 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 



Up went the lid of the tank, and Yellow Lily sweet and smiling. 


YELLOW LILY 


145 


pin, and threw it upon the floor. The giant 
gave a roar and fell sprawling upon the cob- 
blestones. 

“Who woke me up?” he growled, trying to 
gain his feet. 

“I did, dear father,” said the girl meekly. 
“You would have slept forever had I not 
pulled the slumber-pin from your grasp. It 
is very late.” 

“You are a good, trustworthy daughter,” 
said the giant. “I will get you something 
pretty.” 

He went to the tank and commanded the 
prince to get out of his nice, soft bed. 

“You have lain in bed so long, you must 
work still harder to-day,” he added. “My 
stables have not been thatched for many years, 
and I want you to do it to-day. They cover 
many acres, but if you finish them before 
dark I will spare you your head. They 
must be thatched with feathers, to be put on 
one at a time, and no two of them must be 
alike.” 

The prince was again cast down, but he said 
that he would do his best. 


146 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 

“But where shall I find the birds?” he asked 
after a period of helpless silence. 

“Where do you suppose? I hope you 
would not try to find them in the frog pond,” 
was the impatient answer. “Here are two 
whistles, an old one and a new one. You may 
take your choice.” 

“I’ll take the new one,” said the prince, and 
the giant gave him a whistle that looked as 
though it had never been used. 

“Some day you will learn that old things 
are best,” said the giant scornfully. 

When the giant had gone, the prince blew 
the whistle until his lips were puckered out of 
shape, but not a fowl came to his rescue. At 
last he sat down upon a rock, almost ready to 
cry. 

But Yellow Lily came again, lovelier than 
ever in another yellow gown trimmed with 
the wings of dragon flies, and with pearls in 
her glorious hair. 

“Why do you sit whistling instead of work- 
ing?” she asked. “Poor prince, you must be 
hungry. Here is a little table set for two 
under this big tree. When things worry you, 


YELLOW LILY 147 1 

don’t give up. The man who keeps his ap- 
petite has no cause to despair.” 

So they sat down and ate peacock tongues 
and frosted cakes and almonds and many other 
delicacies, and were happier than ever. 

“But it is growing late, and the stable is 
still unthatched!” cried the prince, suddenly 
remembering his task as soon as his appetite 
was satisfied. 

“Look behind you,” said the girl. 

The prince, to his utter surprise, saw that 
the stables were thatched with downy bird 
feathers, no two of them alike. 

“You are a wonder,” he said, grasping her 
hands in gratitude. 

“Not at all,” she replied. “How could the 
birds work for you while you stood there 
blowing that terrible whistle? Birds would 
be as good friends to people as dogs are, if 
people did not frighten them so. But say no 
more. I hear father drinking at the spring 
two miles away, and he will be here in four 
minutes.” 

She drew her skirts closely about her and 
with a sweet smile hastened into the castle. 


148 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 

“Who thatched that roof?” shouted the 
giant as soon as he arrived. 

“My own strength did it,” said the prince 
humbly, feeling that he had not told a false- 
hood, for Yellow Lily was even more than 
strength to him. 

The giant, instead of thanking him for his 
services, seized him again, and threw him 
headlong into the kitchen tank. Then he sat 
down by the fire. No sooner had his head 
begun to nod than Yellow Lily placed the 
slumber-pin over his nose to be sure that he 
could not wake up. Then she set the prince 
free, and they spent the evening as before, ex- 
cept that there was much more merriment. 

On the following morning the giant opened 
the tank and ordered the prince to climb 
out. 

“I have a task for you to do that even a 
prince cannot do,” he said. “I am sure that 
I shall have your head before night. Near 
the castle is a tree nine hundred feet high. It 
has but one branch and that is near the top. 
This branch contains a crow’s nest. In the 
nest is one egg. I want that egg for supper 


YELLOW LILY 140 

to-night. If you do not get it, you will be 
sorry.” 

The giant took the prince to the tree, which 
rose like a great pillar of smooth glass, so slip- 
pery that not even an ant could crawl upon it 
without sliding off. 

When the giant had gone, the prince tried 
a dozen times to climb to the top, but each time 
he slipped back to the earth quicker and 
harder than before. He was glad indeed 
when Yellow Lily came. 

And now comes the bloodcurdling part of 
the tale that I would rather omit; but I must 
tell it all to you just as the dear little Irish 
children heard it centuries ago, or I should 
feel that I had marred this ancient bit of fairy 
folk-lore. 

Yellow Lily, as usual, brought something 
to eat, and after they had eaten, she, for the 
first time, turned upon the prince a sorrowful 
face. 

“I am sorry father gave you this task to do ; 
but we must submit to what cannot be helped,” 
she said. “Alas! dear prince, you must kill 
me. 


150 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 

“Kill you!” he cried in horror. “Never! 
I would rather lose my head a thousand 
times.” 

“But, if you are careful, I shall come to 
life again,” persisted the girl. “My fairy 
godmother will care for me. You will find 
it easy to strip off my flesh, for you have only 
to say, ‘Yellow Lily of Loch Lein.’ Say it 
again and my bones will all separate. You 
will find that my bones will stick to this tree 
like little steps. On the ladder of bones you 
can climb to the top of the tree. Get the 
egg and climb down carefully, each time pull- 
ing one of my bones from the tree until you 
have reached the earth. Then pile the bones 
in a heap upon my flesh and say, ‘Come back, 
Yellow Lily of Loch Lein,’ and lo! I will be 
myself again. But be careful — be careful not 
to leave one of my bones on the tree.” 

For a long time the prince refused to obey 
her request until Yellow Lily grew vexed and 
said: 

“Then I will tell father that I have been 
helping you, and he will kill us both. Make 
haste, for the time is short.” 


YELLOW LILY 


151 


“Yellow Lily of Loch Lein!” shouted the 
prince, without looking at her. “Yellow Lily 
of Loch Lein!” he shouted again. 

Then he looked down and saw at his feet 
a stack of little white bones. He gathered 
them up and, climbing slowly, made a little 
ladder by sticking them against the tree. He 
soon reached the crow’s nest, found the egg, 
placed it in his pocket, and climbed down 
again, plucking the bones from the tree as he 
went. Then he piled them upon the flesh and 
garments of the girl and, with tears in his 
eyes, shouted: 

“Come back, Yellow Lily of Loch Lein.” 

And immediately Yellow Lily stood before 
him, but no longer smiling. 

“Wretch!” she cried. “You have made me 
a cripple for life! You are nothing but a 
careless boy after all.” 

“Oh, what have I neglected to do?” cried 
the prince, sick with fear. 

“There is one of my little toes still hanging 
to the tree. Oh, what an awkward creature 
a prince is!” 

The prince on his knees begged her pardon, 


152 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 
and finally Yellow Lily broke into her old, 
sweet smile and said: 

“I am thankful it is no worse. What a 
sight I would be if you had forgotten my 
backbone!” 

So they became merry and talkative again 
until it was time for the giant to arrive. Then 
Yellow Lily went to her tower and the prince 
took his stand at the castle gate holding the 
crow’s egg. 

“You are certainly a magician!” gasped the 
giant when he saw the prince. “I cannot 
take your head, lest a worse fate befall me. 
Go home at once. Do not linger here a 
minute.” 

The prince wanted to bid farewell to Yel- 
low Lily, but of course, that was impossible, 
so he hastened home as fast as he could. 

When he reached the Palace of Erin, the 
king, the queen, old Glic, and all the court 
ran out to greet him. Never before had there 
been such rejoicing there. For days they 
feasted and danced to melodious music, and a 
tournament was held in which the best arch- 
ers in the kingdom tested their skill. 


153 


.YELLOW LILY, 

A year later, old Glic, who was always mak- 
ing trouble, told the king that it was time for 
the prince to marry some noble lady of great 
wealth. The prince would have liked to 
marry Yellow Lily, but the king said that he 
must choose a princess whose rank was equal 
to his own. In despair the prince told Glic 
to select him a wife soon or he would go 
roaming again and never return. 

“I have found a suitable lady,” said Glic. 
“Her father is the King of Loch Lein, the 
kingdom that is next to ours. Her father is 
powerful, her family is famous, her wealth 
cannot be counted, and she is as beautiful as 
the Queen of the Fairies.” 

“If she will have me, I will marry her,” said 
the prince, “but I will not seek her myself.” 

The king sent Glic to the court of Loch 
Lein, bearing rich gifts and guarded by sol- 
diers and attendants. In a few weeks he re- 
turned and told the King of Erin that the King 
of Loch Lein had consented to give the prince 
his daughter in marriage. 

Preparations were at once made for a great 
wedding. All kinds of sports, several dances, 


154 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 

and other amusements were to be enjoyed at 
court, and the royal families of many differ- 
ent kingdoms, even from the isles of the sea, 
were to be present. 

The prince himself finally grew much in- 
terested in getting ready for the great event. 
In fact he almost forgot about Yellow Lily 
and the help she had given him to save his 
head. Yet he bade his father invite the Giant 
of Loch Lein to be present at the feast to be 
given before the day of the wedding. It was 
also agreed to invite Blue Lily, White Lily, 
and Yellow Lily, and to treat them as prin- 
cesses of the royal blood. 

In time the King of Loch Lein, who was an 
aged man, arrived with his daughter and a 
shipful of attendants. The gatekeeper blew 
his bugle and the whole court of Erin ran out 
to greet them. The King and Princess of 
Loch Lein were taken into the reception hall 
where the Queen and Prince of Erin wel- 
comed them. 

The prince was much disappointed when 
he beheld the princess, and was very angry 
with plic, for she was haughty and not at all 


YELLOW LILY 


155 


pretty. She seemed to be more pleased with 
the costly furniture and tapestries than with 
the prince. 

The day of the feast came at last. The 
table in the banquet hall was loaded with 
fruits and costly meats of all kinds to be 
served upon plates of solid gold. Every one 
appeared to be happy, especially old Glic, 
who was to receive a large sum of money for 
finding the prince a wife. 

At the close of the feast, the King of Erin 
sang a ballad and the King of Loch Lein told 
a story. In those days the people were fond 
of deeds of magic, so the prince requested 
Glic to call the mighty Giant of Loch Lein, 
that he might perform some tricks. 

In a few moments the giant entered the 
room, bowing sternly as the people clapped 
their hands and cheered. He did not look 
at the prince but bowed low to the two kings. 

“Your Majesties,” he said, “it is my daugh- 
ter who is the real magician. I know that 
she will be glad to entertain you for a short 
time. In fact she has consented to take my 
place.” 


156 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 

Just then Yellow Lily entered the room in 
a gown of gold that swept the floor. Her 
golden hair shone like the sun. No one pres- 
ent had ever seen such glorious hair nor such 
a beautiful face and form. All were too much 
amazed at her beauty and elegance to utter a 
word of welcome. 

Yellow Lily sat down at the table and threw 
two grains of wheat into the air. They lit 
upon the table and turned into a male and a 
female pigeon. Immediately the former be- 
gan to peck at his mate, almost driving her 
from the table. To the surprise of all, the 
female pigeon shrieked: 

“You didn’t treat me thus on the day I 
cleaned the stable for you and found the 
slumber-pin.” 

Yellow Lily laid two grains of wheat be- 
fore them, but the male pigeon greedily de- 
voured them and continued to abuse his mate. 

“You would not have done that to me the 
day I thatched the stables for you with the 
feathers of birds, and no two of them alike,” 
shrieked the female pigeon. 

When some more wheat was laid before 


YELLOW LILY 


157 


them, the male pigeon ate more greedily than 
before, and after he had eaten every grain he 
pushed his mate off the table. She fluttered 
to the floor screaming: 

“You wouldn’t have done that the day you 
killed me and took my bones to make steps 
on the glass tree nine hundred feet high, to 
get the crow’s egg for the supper of the Giant 
of Loch Lein — and forgot my little toe, and 
made me lame for life!” 

The Prince of Erin rose to his feet, red with 
shame, and turning to the King of Loch Lein, 
said: 

“When I was younger I roamed about hunt- 
ing and playing games. Once while away 
from home, I lost the key to a valuable chest. 
After a new key was made I found the old one. 
Which of the two keys should be kept, the old 
one or the new one?” 

The King of Loch Lein looked puzzled, but 
he answered promptly: 

“Keep the old one by all means, for it will 
fit better and you are more accustomed to it.” 

“I thank you for your sound advice,” con- 
tinued the prince with a smile. “Yellow 


158 STORIES TO READ OR TELE 
Lily, the daughter of the Giant of Loch Lein, 
is the old key to my heart, and I will wed no 
other girl. Your daughter, the princess, is 
the new key that has never been tried. She is 
only my father’s guest, and no more; but she 
will be better for having attended my happy 
wedding in Erin.” 

Great astonishment of both royal families 
and their guests when the prince took Yellow 
Lily by the hand and led her to a seat be- 
side him. But when the musicians began to 
play a brilliant air, the palace re-echoed from 
tower to dungeon with joyous shouts of “Long 
live the Prince of Erin and his future bride, 
Yellow Lily of Loch Lein!” 


THE MOUSE, THE BIRD, AND THE 
SAUSAGE 


O NCE upon a time, a Mouse, a Bird, and a 
Sausage, entered into partnership and 
set up house together. For a long time all 
went well; they lived in great comfort, and 
prospered so far as to be able to add consider- 
ably to their stores. The Bird’s duty was to 
fly daily into the wood and bring in fuel ; the 
Mouse fetched the water, and the Sausage saw 
to the cooking. 

When people are too well off they always 
begin to long for something new. And so it 
came to pass, that the Bird while out one day, 
met a fellow-bird, to whom he told of the ex- 
cellence of his household arrangements. But 
the other Bird sneered at him for being a poor 
simpleton, who did all the hard work while 
the other two stayed at home and had a good 
time of it. For, when the Mouse had made 
the fire and fetched in the water, she could 
retire into her little room and rest until it was 

159 


160 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 



The bird tells the others it is time to make a change. 


MOUSE, BIRD AND SAUSAGE 161 
time to set the table. The Sausage had only 
to watch the pot to see that the food was prop- 
erly cooked, and when it was near dinner- 
time, he just threw himself into the broth, or 
rolled in and out among the vegetables three 
or four times, and there they were, buttered 
and salted, and ready to be served. Then, 
when the Bird came home and had laid aside 
his burden, they sat down to table, and when 
they had finished their meal, they could sleep 
their fill till the following morning: and that 
was really a very delightful life. 

Influenced by these remarks, the Bird next 
morning refused to bring in the wood, telling 
the others that he had been their servant long 
enough, and had been a fool into the bargain, 
and that it was now time to make a change, 
and to try some other way of arranging the 
work. Beg and pray as the Mouse and the 
Sausage might, it was of no use; the Bird re- 
mained the master of the situation, and the 
venture had to be made. They therefore drew 
lots, and it fell to the Sausage to bring in the 
wood, to the Mouse to cook, and to the Bird to 
fetch the water. 


162 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 

And now what happened? The Sausage 
started in search of wood, the Bird made the 
fire, and the Mouse put on the pot, and then 
these two waited till the Sausage returned with 
the fuel for the following day. But the Sau- 
sage remained so long away, that they became 
uneasy, and the Bird flew out to meet him. 
He had not flown far, however, when he came 
across a Dog who, having met the Sausage, had 
regarded him as his legitimate booty, and so 
seized and swallowed him. The Bird com- 
plained to the Dog of this bare-faced robbery, 
but nothing he said was of any avail, for the 
Dog answered that he had found false creden- 
tials on the Sausage, and that was the reason 
his life had been forfeited. 

The Bird picked up the wood and flew sadly 
home, and told the Mouse all he had seen and 
heard. They were both very unhappy but 
agreed to make the best of things and to re- 
main with one another. 

So now the Bird set the table, and the 
Mouse looked after the food, and wishing to 
i prepare it in the same way as the Sausage, by 
rolling in and out among the vegetables to salt 


MOUSE, BIRD AND SAUSAGE 163 
and butter them, she jumped into the pot; but 
she stopped short long before she reached the 
bottom, having already parted not only with 
her skin and hair, but also with life. 

Presently the Bird came in and wanted to 
serve up the dinner, but he could nowhere see 
the cook. In his alarm and flurry, he threw 
the wood here and there about the floor, called 
and searched, but no cook was to be found. 
Then some of the wood that had been care- 
lessly thrown down, caught fire and began to 
blaze. The Bird hastened to fetch some 
water, but his pail fell into the well, and he 
after it, and as he was unable to recover him- 
self, he was drowned. 


THE TALE OF THE WOLF IN 
HARNESS 


HE horse carried me well. Advancing 



JL into the interior parts of Russia, I found 
traveling on horseback rather unfashionable 
in winter; therefore I submitted, as I always 
do, to the custom of the country, took a single- 
horse sledge, and drove briskly towards St. 
Petersburg. I do not exactly recollect 
whether it was in Eastland or Jugemanland, 
but I remember that in the midst of a dreary 
forest, I spied a terrible wolf making after 
me, with all the speed of ravenous winter 
hunger. He soon overtook me. There was 
no possibility of escape. Mechanically I laid 
myself down flat in the sledge, and let my 
horse run for our safety. What I wished, but 
hardly hoped or expected, happened imme- 
diately after. The wolf did not mind me in 
the least, but took a leap over me, and falling 
furiously on the horse, began instantly to tear 
and devour the hind part of the poor animal, 


-THE WOLF IN HARNESS 165 



“We both arrived in full career — 



166 STORIES TO READ OR TELL 


which ran the faster for his pain and terror. 
Thus unnoticed and safe myself, I lifted my 
head slyly up, and with horror I beheld that 
the wolf had ate his way into the horse’s body; 
it was not long before he had fairly forced 
himself into it, when I took my advantage, and 
fell upon him with the butt-end of my whip. 
This unexpected attack in his rear frightened 
him so much, that he leaped forward with all 
his might; the horse’s carcass dropped on the 
ground ; but in his place the wolf was in har- 
ness, and I on my part whipping him con- 
tinually, we both arrived in full career safe 
at St. Petersburg, contrary to our respective 
expectations, and very much to the astonish- 
ment of the spectators. 


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